Nimbin Man Arrested For Facebook Post
A Nimbin guy has been arrested for allegedly posting a video of his marijuana crop on Facebook. Peter Till, the man we are talking about, allegedly bragged about his cannabis plants on Facebook after he was released on conditional bail. This thoughtless act, unfortunately, landed him in prison all over again. Recreational use of cannabis is illegal in Australia.
While he insists that he is not Peter Till as claimed by the police, he had to appear in Lismore Local Court on Tuesday. He had been arrested early that morning for breaching the conditions of his bail.
The man was taken into police custody on March 22 for posting a video of 512 cannabis plants seized by the police on Facebook. On April 4, however, he was released on a strict conditional bail. He has been charged with growing a commercial amount of cannabis, supplying an indictable quantity of the prohibited plant, and two counts of possessing marijuana.
His neighbour had agreed to his bail conditions which stipulated that Till had to reside with him on Mountain Top Road. The terms of his bail also required him to abstain from alcohol and drugs unless they were prescribed by a doctor and to report to Nimbin police station on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Barely a day after getting released on bail, Till reportedly posted on Facebook ‘Had heaps of cannabis in town today.’ The next day he allegedly wrote on Facebook that he was not Peter Till.
On April 7, when the police called Till, he reportedly told them that he was not the Peter Till they’re looking for, and hence he would not be reporting on bail. On April 11, the police arrested him for breaching the conditions of his bail and failing to report to the police station on April 5, 7, and 10.
Police allege that he posted several videos and photographs of himself with his marijuana crop on Facebook. This allegation forms the crux of the prosecution brief. Senior Constable David Sendt writes in police facts that the accused maintains ‘sovereign’ ideology and insists that he cannot identify with the name Peter Till and believes that anything that he signs under that name does not represent him and is invalid.
As soon as he was presented in the court, Peter Till started ranting loudly while the Magistrate asked him if he was interested in applying for bail. He kept saying that he was not a name or word and that he did not agree to any bail contract at all.
The Magistrate interrupted him twice more and asked if he wanted to apply for bail to which he replied that he was not in their commercial business interests. He then went on to talk loudly. He did not stop his rants even after the judge told him that it was his last chance to apply for bail. During the court appeal, Till demanded that he should be called ‘The Rock’ or ‘The Man’. He was rebuked by Magistrate Linden for his behaviour in the court. And when it was clear that he would not stop, the judge adjourned his case until May 15.
Earlier this year, in February, Till was brought to Lismore Court to appeal against convictions for having possession of prohibited cannabis. He defended by saying that he used it for pain relief as he had a motorcycle accident back in 1996.