Stokes case adjourned
12/03/2010 4:44 PM
Geelong premiership player Mathew Stokes will have to wait until April to find out if the charge of trafficking against him will proceed after his case was adjourned at the Geelong Magistrates' Court on Friday.
Stokes' lawyer Mark Dean SC applied for Stokes' charges of trafficking and possession of cocaine to be heard summarily in the Magistrates' Court and not be taken to a jury.
He said the charges were at the minor end of the scale and that Stokes had not profited from the purchase of the cocaine, which he had earlier told police he brought for friends.
The prosecution case, led by John Weigl, said a full investigation was still being completed and Magistrate Ronald Saines said the case would be listed for mention again on April 27.
Geelong released a statement on Friday saying its position on the matter remained the same and Stokes' initial punishment, which sees him suspended from the AFL until Round 8 and unable to train with the club in any capacity until Round 1, was unchanged.
Stokes could face a lifetime ban from football is the charge of trafficking is proven.