Whittington man Bradley Francois jailed for repeat driving offences

A man has been jailed after he was repeatedly caught driving with drugs in his system.

Bradley Francois. Picture: Facebook

A Whittington man whose driver’s licence had been suspended for nearly a decade was high on ice when he crashed a stolen car into a fence.

Bradley Francois was jailed on Monday after he was caught driving with methamphetamine in his system four times between October 2022 and August this year.

The Geelong Magistrates Court heard Francois had a 17-page rap sheet of similar offending.

The 48-year-old pleaded guilty to several charges including drug driving, dangerous driving and providing police with a false name.

The court heard police spotted Francois driving a car through Whittington bearing a stolen rear registration plate and no front number plate about 8.20pm on August 14.

Senior police prosecutor Georgie Hadzig said Francois tried to evade police, but instead crashed into a fence.

Tests revealed Francois had drugs in his system and further checks found the car he was driving was stolen.

The court was told Francois decided to steal the vehicle because “the keys were in it”.

When he was asked why he tried to evade police, he responded “because I s--- myself”, the court heard.

In October last year, Francois was stopped for licence check and tested positive for methamphetamine.

A few hours later he was caught driving in an erratic manner, the court heard.

Ms Hadzig said on October 28 last year, about 10.52pm, Francois was driving a white Holden ute when he was stopped by police in St Albans Park.

The court was told Francois lied to police about his name when he instead provided them with the name of his brother.

He undertook an oral fluid test and returned a positive result for ice and was told not to drive.

A few hours later, about 2.23am on October 29, he was seen by police “driving in an erratic matter” and was detected travelling 142 km/h in a 60 km/h zone.

Ms Hadzig said Francois was met by officers at his home address and appeared to be “sweaty and out of breath”.

He also returned another positive result for driving with methamphetamine in his system.

In Whittington on March 24 this year, police were alerted to Francois’s driving through an automatic number plate check.

Francois was seen overtaking stationary traffic and also went through a red light.

He also returned a positive result for driving with methamphetamine in his system.

Francois’s lawyer, Adrian Paull said his client had problems with alcohol and drugs, but had been compliant and co-operative.

Magistrate Franz Holzer said Francois had a 17-page criminal history with similar offending.

Mr Holzer convicted and jailed Francois for 15 months, with a non-parole period of nine months.

He also received a $4200 fine and was disqualified from driving for five years.

Originally published as Whittington man Bradley Francois jailed for repeat driving offences