Just months after a former child star was told in court he “must not do anything wrong” following a minor traffic offence, he has allegedly been caught tangled up in a far worse crime.
Jarin Towney secured his big break in Mel Gibson’s 2016 blockbuster, Hacksaw Ridge.
The 24-year-old also played regular roles in hit TV shows Packed to the Rafters and Underbelly — the latter of which is ironic, given his new alleged offending.
Today, he was due to face Downing Centre Local Court, accused of possessing a commercial amount of methamphetamines, which police allege is linked to the attempted importation of 112kg of the drug from China into Australia.
Magistrate Ian Guy briefly heard the matter before adjourning it until October 25 for outstanding items on the brief to be served.
According to court documents obtained by news.com.au, Towney allegedly possessed a commercial quantity of methamphetamines between 12pm on May 4 and 5pm on July 19 at Surry Hills.
According to Australian Federal Police, the charge relates to the attempted importation of 112kg of ice concealed in a container of commercial machinery, which arrived in the Port of Melbourne on July 5.
They allege the container was earlier collected by a logistics company in Melbourne and transported to a factory in the south-west Sydney suburb of Yagoona on July 18.
On 19 July 2023, the AFP executed search warrants at the factory and a residence in Surry Hills, NSW. Police also located a disused clan lab in the factory and seized equipment suspected to have been used in the manufacture of drugs.
The serious drug charge follows several years of petty crimes committed by the once promising actor.
Most recently, he avoided a conviction in May for riding a motorbike with a suspended licence.
The court heard he’d been working in a retail shop in Sydney’s inner west suburb of Newtown and received Centrelink assistance before he was arrested.
At the time of sentencing for driving while disqualified, Deputy Chief Magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis noted he had a “significant traffic record, but not any significant traffic criminal charges”.
He accepted Towney appeared to have good prospects of rehabilitation and sentenced him to a 12-month conditional release order without conviction, where he was ordered to be of good behaviour.
He told the former star he “must not do anything wrong” for the next year.
But just two months later, he was arrested and charged over the huge methamphetamines seizure.
Last year, Towney was handed a 2.5-year community correction order (CCO) in 2022 after he was caught tagging a moving train on Sydney’s train network.
And in the few years prior, he was fined for several crimes including offensive behaviour, hindering police, trespassing and property damage.
His demise into crime followed several strong years on screen which culminated in an ASTRA Award nomination.
According to the internet Movie Database, Towney first appeared in three episodes of Underbelly in 2011.
He went on to feature in the 2012 movie Two Little Boys, starring Hamish Blake, before landing roles in TV series Devil’s Playground and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, as well as movies Hacksaw Ridge and Chasing Wonders.