‘Zombie’ drug blamed for behaviour

A Narrogin woman who was behaving so erratically in custody that prison officers did not remove her from her cell for three days has blamed her behaviour on the “zombie drug” flakka.

Tamara Yettung Eades told the Albany Magistrate’s Court she thought she had injected herself with the synthetic ice substitute flakka believing it was methamphetamine before she was taken into custody in late November.

The drug has been known to put users into a “zombie-like” state.

Magistrate Raelene Johnston told Eades it was greatly concerning that she was out of control, to the point she could not be taken out of her cell to face court for three consecutive days because of fears for the safety of herself and staff.

The court was told Eades was reciting the Bible in her cell.

Eades was first due to appear in court on November 27 after she was arrested in Albany on the same day for failing to appear in the Perth Magistrate’s Court on November 25.

The original charges were for a string of offences, when police were called to a Garfield Street home for a domestic violence incident on November 8.

After speaking with Eades’ partner, she was issued a 72-hour police order, instructing her not to approach him or the home.

Five hours later, just after 2am, police returned to the home, where Eades was standing on the footpath shouting abuse at her partner.

After being informed she was under arrest for breaching the police order, Eades escaped custody by running up Garfield Street.

She was apprehended a short time later and taken to the Narrogin Police Station where she was verbally aggressive, threatening and abusive towards police, and tried to hide a sharp earring in her cleavage.

For failing to abide by a police order, disorderly conduct in a police station, and escaping from lawful custody, Eades was given a six-month community-based order.

She told the court she was ashamed of her conduct and described the injection of the drug as a “big wake-up call”.