Midnight drive lands war vet in Toowoomba watch house
A handyman with a habit of spending nights in the Toowoomba watch house, has pleaded guilty to his latest crime after he was pulled over at midnight with a homeless person in his car.
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A Toowoomba man who runs a home and yard maintenance business was released from custody after spending a night in the watch house for breaching his bail conditions.
The father of two, Kingsley William Thomas Errington, was arrested by officers late Tuesday night, June 4, after he was caught breaching a curfew and driving unlicensed.
The court heard when the 35-year-old was intercepted after midnight, a police system check showed his licence was SPER suspended in May 2024.
Errington told the officers he was unaware of the suspension and had a payment plan to pay off his SPER debt.
The 35-year-old man told the officer he was driving his homeless passenger to a laundromat, despite bail conditions requiring him to be home between 8pm and 5am.
In October, Errington was placed on an 18-month probation order after pleading guilty to stealing almost $1500 worth of food over 13 separate occasions from Coles Glenvale.
During those court proceedings before the Toowoomba Magistrates Court, the court heard Errington suffered from a meth addiction.
While acting as duty lawyer for the fresh offence, Nicholas Bennett said the homeless person was known to Errington, who was trying to help the friend out after receiving their phone call.
“He’s pleaded guilty to the very first available opportunity after spending now an excess of some nine hours in the watch house,” he said.
He noted the Gladstone-born man, who grew up in Inglewood and Toowoomba, and had no prior history of breaching bail conditions or of driving unlicensed.
He noted Errington served as an infantry soldier for seven years and witnessed ‘action’ in Afghanistan and Iraq.
After leaving the Australian Army, Mr Bennett said Errington worked on oil rigs for a number of years before starting his own maintenance company in Toowoomba.
He noted Errington supported his children and ex-partner, and would be able to maintain his business despite losing his licence.
Magistrate Kay Ryan fined Errington $400 and disqualified his licence for two years.
“You are on a lengthy period of probation for other offences,” she said.
“Certainly it has been bought home to you, I could imagine very clearly, what occurs if you breach your bail conditions.”
She warned Errington if was caught behind the wheel in the coming years, the maximum penalty was an 18 month jail term for breaching a court order.
“It’s contempt of court, not just a traffic offence,” she warned.
Originally published as Midnight drive lands war vet in Toowoomba watch house
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