Daniel Witham pleaded guilty to nine charges, including eight drug related charges and one count of failing to answer bail at the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Thursday. The court heard the man had been walking along Tait Street at 4.45am on December 20 when he was approached by police.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Sam Young told the court Witham appeared nervous and when asked by police if he had anything in his backpack he appeared more nervous. When asked whether there were any drugs inside, he replied “maybe”.

Senior Constable Young said a number of drugs were found inside the bag including one ecstasy tablet, four zip-lock bags containing 3.5g of cannabis seeds, lyrica tablets and a small amount of ice. A set of scales and a number of empty zip-lock bags were also found.

Witham was again approached by police on March 22 after he was observed sitting in his vehicle at a Redan oval. Senior Constable Young said police could smell cannabis when the accused wound down his window.

A search of his car found a backpack with a small quantity of cannabis inside.

He told police he had smoked cannabis two hours prior for pain relief after having surgery on his hand.

Witham’s defence lawyer, David Taminika, said his client attributed his drug use in December to his response to a relationship breakup.

He said the only substance found in March was four grams of cannabis.

“He was not carrying around significant amounts, and no phones or tick-books were found on him”, Mr Taminika said. With a limited income, he said a fine would be a significant deterrent for his client.

Magistrate Ronald Saines said there was no evidence to say Witham was regularly using drugs.

He convicted and fined Witham $800 for his offending from December 20, $400 for failing to answer bail and $400 for possessing and using cannabis on March 22.