A teenager has avoided jail despite being convicted of selling a large quantity of drugs to an undercover police officer on the New South Wales north coast.
Flynn Brown, 19, was arrested in Byron Bay in December.
He was charged with the ongoing supply of an indictable supply of prohibited drugs, including cocaine and MDMA.
Today he was sentenced to a two-year intensive corrections order, which means he can stay out of jail under strict supervision.
Speaking outside the Lismore District Court, Brown said had not been expecting a lenient sentence.
"Super relieved. I thought I was definitely going to jail and I'm really grateful for the second chance that the judge gave me and I'm not going to mess it up," he said.
"Any grommets thinking about getting involved with drugs in any way, just don't bother because it's not worth it.
"It's a waste of time and there's better things in life."
Offender 'owes debt to his community'
In passing sentence, judge Laura Wells told the teenager he had the benefit of considerable leniency and owed a debt to his community and family.
"You can repay that debt by improving yourself by ongoing counselling, staying off drugs and working," she said.
There were 16 conditions attached to the intensive corrections order, which gives officers from the Department of Corrective Services the option of imposing a curfew or insisting an electronic surveillance device be fitted.
Defence lawyer John Weller said his client had worked hard to avoid jail time.
"If he lapses in any way he'll be facing jail," Mr Weller said.
"He had a very short stint in jail before he was bailed and the situation is that he didn't like what he saw."
Mr Weller said he was confident Brown understood how serious his offence was.
"He's worked with his father, he's done voluntary work in a soup kitchen, he's done weekly counselling and random urine tests, he's completely drug-free, [and] he's gone to TAFE and studied a course," he said.
"If you give someone an opportunity they've got to have pulled their weight, and in every respect he's done that."
