7 hours ago
4
The estranged son of gangland-connected lawyer Victor Doree is facing potential time behind bars after a police raid on his Brighton East home allegedly uncovered bricks of cocaine with a total estimated street value of $100,000.
A month-long investigation into the suspected circulation of illicit drugs in the elite bayside suburb led detectives to the North Road home on Monday morning.
Jesse Doree, 28, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after he was arrested on charges of cocaine trafficking, drug possession, and possessing proceeds of crime.
Doree, who briefly attended Bayside private school De La Salle, was supported in court by his partner, brothers and mother Fiona.
Senior Constable Jack Wills told the court that during the raid police seized two mobile phones, $45,000 in cash, various drugs – including ketamine – as well as the bricks of cocaine.
“We believe one phone is used as a clean phone, and the second phone is used for trafficking drugs,” Wills said.
A text message sent from one phone allegedly contained a list of names alongside money owed, with individual debts recorded at $35,000, $42,000, and as high as $50,000, the court heard.
“Then [there] was an address sent with a screenshot from Google Maps of a picture of a house, and he’s asking someone to go and collect that debt for him,” Wills said.
Doree allegedly told the arresting officers he doesn’t use cocaine, and self-prescribes sedatives as he “doesn’t trust doctors”.
The court heard the 28-year-old claimed he was unemployed, aside from a business he’s starting focused on “finding lawyers online” and cash-in-hand roofing jobs.
Wills told the court he believed Doree would continue drug trafficking if granted bail. “He’s developed a lifestyle based on selling drugs, and it would be extremely difficult for him to give that up,” he said.
“We’ve seized a lot of cash from his house, so he’s going to have to try and make that up somehow.”
Wills told the court there was a risk an “outside party” would chase up the alleged debts owed that “could result in violence”.
Doree’s estranged father, Victor, has had longstanding business ties to the underworld, including with Finks bikie club president Mark Basille and gangland figure Mick Gatto.
Victor made headlines in May when his Spotswood warehouse – housing three law firms, including his own – was torched under suspicious circumstances.
Doree’s mother, Fiona, told the court her son had not seen his father for over a decade. “Jesse’s father left [us] in 2012. He had an extramarital affair with one of the women from the office, which was rubbed in all of our faces for a long time.”
She told the court her son struggles “tremendously” with post-traumatic stress, after witnessing and being subjected to emotional abuse and physical violence at the hands of his father.
“He’s a really, really good kid. He has a really good heart,” Fiona said. “His dad leaving was probably the start of him lashing out and ... just making really silly choices.”
The court heard Doree had a limited criminal history, including a trafficking charge that did not result in a conviction.
However, the magistrate denied bail, saying he was not satisfied Doree would not reoffend despite the clear support of his family.
Doree was remanded until his next court date in October.
Be the first to know when major news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts on email or turn on notifications in the app.
