Officer 'hid cannabis in locker'

[Tom]

A policeman on trial for stealing marijuana he obtained from an arrest was allegedly seen taking it to the male change rooms at Lilydale Police Station, where he hid it in his locker, a jury heard yesterday.

 

Senior Constable Lee John Lorenc, 33, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of theft and two counts of possession of marijuana.

 

The County Court heard that Lorenc, of Monbulk, arrested Emma Stevens after he pulled over her car in Coldstream and found eight ounces of marijuana worth $2000 inside a plastic bag on October 8, 2002.

 

Lorenc allegedly told Stevens that he would not weigh the the drugs if she admitted to taking a lesser amount of five ounces, the court heard.

 

Crown prosecutor Marc Sargent told a 12-member jury that Lorenc then allegedly told her boyfriend, Darren Thomas, he could keep some of the marijuana.

 

Mr Sargent said this accounted for one of the charges of theft, as Lorenc allegedly gave away drugs that had effectively become the property of Victoria Police after the arrest.

 

Mr Sargent told the jury that Lorenc then took the marijuana to Lilydale Police Station. On his way to the male change room, Lorenc allegedly winked at colleague Senior Constable Richard Blackwood, who had seen the marijuana earlier that day, and motioned towards a plastic bag of the drug.

 

The Crown argues it contained half the amount of cannabis Constable Blackwood had seen earlier.

 

After the matter was reported, a plastic bag of cannabis was found in Lorenc's locker, the court heard. The bag was removed and then replaced at 3.40pm.

 

Later police found one ounce of cannabis hidden in a cardboard box about one metre from his locker. A small bag of the drug was also found in Lorenc's car, which was parked in the station's carpark, Mr Sargent told the court.

 

Lorenc's defence lawyer, Geoffrey Steward, said his client did not put the marijuana in his locker, but that they would not dispute that the drug was found there.

 

"What is in dispute is how it got into the locker room and who put it there," Mr Steward said. "It is the defence position that he did not steal the marijuana and that he did not put it in his locker."

 

Mr Steward said the marijuana was left in Lorenc's locker, which was unlocked and left open. "(The marijuana) was extremely easy to find," he told the jury.

 

The trial, before Judge Leo Hart, continues.

 

Author:Daniella Miletic

Date:June 1, 2005

Source:theage.com.au

Copyright:Copyright © 2005. The Age Company Ltd.