After winning $22 million on the Powerball when he was 22 years old, an Australian plumber fell into a “hedonistic” lifestyle that culminated in his arrest for drug and firearm possession three years later.
After discovering a Mauser pistol and ammo concealed in his toilet, police conducted a search on Joshua Winslet’s Adelaide house in 2020 and charged him with MDMA distribution and possession of an unregistered weapon.
Winslet’s parents put his $22 million lottery winnings in a trust fund, but he still had access to enough money to start a risky downward spiral.
Prior to becoming “hopelessly hooked” to narcotics, he left his job and purchased homes in South Australia and New Zealand, according to testimony presented by the District Court of SA.
Winslet’s tale will go down as one of the greatest Australian lotto tragedies, following a long line of wealthy individuals whose lives were ultimately destroyed by vice or greed.
Photos of Winslet’s decrepit “party home” were provided by the court, revealing packaged MDMA, cocaine, and marijuana in addition to many enormous bongs and a profusion of empty beverage bottles and cans.
A framed congratulations from the lottery organization depicting Winslet’s winning 2017 Powerball entry was among the pictures.
One image revealed the contents of his fridge, which also included a pack of Red Bull cans and a soup dish filled with white power.
When SA police searched his New Port house in August 2020, they found 28.3 grams of MDMA hidden between a safe and a closet, along with 2.27 grams of cocaine, marijuana, a firearm, and ammunition.
The images showed his Adelaide house in a “appalling” condition, with candles, a bong, bottles of liquor, cigarettes, and nangs (nitrous oxide bulbs) sitting on a marble table beside them.
Another area included a floor-to-ceiling projection screen, an electronic drum set, with clothing and trash lying about on the ground.
The dwellings’ floors were filthy in other places, and the beds were not made, and rubbish, such as empty soda cans and takeout food containers, gathered in every room.
According to testimony given in court, his unexpected fortune made him “a free ride” for other drug users who were let to “run wild” in his house.
Winslet, according to the judge Heath Barklay, “lost motivation” for life and chose a “hedonistic lifestyle” that devolved into frequent drug usage following his victory.”
There was no incentive for you to work or do anything else than enjoy yourself because of the money you had earned, he claimed.
You had a lot of money, so you could afford to purchase big quantities of narcotics, which you sometimes supplied to your so-called pals in addition to using yourself.
One “friend” kept a gun and ammunition in his roof, and according to Judge Barklay, the fact that it was kept in a site where extensive drug use was common raised the likelihood that it would be used for “an illicit purpose.”
The arrest of Winslet, the court was told, was “a wake up call,” and he had admitted to selling MDMA and illegally having a handgun.
At the age of 27, Winslet was given a sentence of three years, nine months, with an 18-month non-parole term.
On a two-year good behavior bond with monitoring, the punishment was suspended.