Leah Grace Cordier in Rockhampton court after Bundaberg crash

A woman narrowly avoided spending Christmas Day in prison after rear-ending her former partner while chasing him at speeds of up to 110km/hr, a court has heard.

Leah Grace Cordier, 30, fronted Rockhampton Magistrates Court on Christmas Eve charged with an array of offences including disqualified driving, driving without due care and attention and possessing drugs.

A woman narrowly avoided spending Christmas Day in prison after rear-ending her former partner while chasing him at speeds of up to 110km/h, a court has heard.

Leah Grace Cordier, 30, fronted Rockhampton Magistrates Court on Christmas Eve charged with an array of offences, including disqualified driving, driving without due care and attention and possessing drugs.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Andrew Powis said police found Cordier in possession of someone else’s firearms licence when they searched her bag after she left the East End Hotel in Bundaberg on November 15 about 8.50pm and that checks revealed the licence had been stolen from the victim’s vehicle in January 2024.

He said Cordier claimed she had found the licence.

Senior Constable Powis said police also located a driver’s licence in another woman’s name in Cordier’s bag which had been stolen from the Lighthouse Hotel at Burnett Heads on June 30, 2023.

He said Cordier claimed the licence belonged to a friend that went by a different name on the licence and that friend lived in Bowen.

Police also located 1.5g of methamphetamines, a used meth glass pipe, electronic scales, clip seal bags and a flick knife.

Just over a month later, Cordier attended the Brothers Sports Club on December 23 and about 2.30m, CCTV captured her approaching her former partner from the main entrance of the club before engaging in argument, the court heard.

Senior Constable Powis said Cordier can be heard calling the man a “f*** wit” while he attempted to take her property.

He said the defendant began throwing items at him, kicked and punched him in the car park.

The victim was captured on CCTV trying to escape the area in his vehicle as Cordier ran after his vehicle, kicking the rear of it, then followed on foot, picking up an object and throwing it at his car as he drove off.

Senior Constable Powis said police attended a crash on Childers Road at 3pm that day where Cordier had crashed her car after leaving the club, driving erratically at speeds of up to 110km/hr, overtaking other road users “in an attempt to chase after” her former partner “and catch up to his vehicle”.

“That ultimately resulted in her crashing into the rear of his vehicle,” he said.

Senior Constable Powis said the road from the club’s carpark runs onto Childers Road and initially starts off as a 70km/h zone, then goes to 80km/h, then there was roadworks before the speed limit increased to 90 and the up to 100.

Cordier’s driver’s licence had been disqualified since October 22 for nine months.

Defence lawyer Felicity Davis said Cordier’s criminal history only started in 2024.

She said prior to the relationship with the victim, Cordier was employed as a mechanic parts sales representative and had stable accommodation.

Ms Davis said since then, she had started taking methamphetamines recreationally, but it was now daily, and she was now unemployed and homeless.

“The incident (on December 23) was the first time she had seen him in a while,” she said.

“She lost it and it has just escalated from there.”

Ms Davis said Cordier wants to turn her life around and get back on track.

The court heard Cordier was already on a probation order for previous convictions and that will run until October 2025.

She pleaded guilty to two counts of receiving tainted property, along with one count each of possessing a dangerous drug, possessing a used drug utensil, possessing property used in a drug offence, possessing a weapon, driving without due care and attention and disqualified driving.

Acting magistrate Stephen Byrne sentenced Cordier to three months prison, wholly suspended and operational for 12 months.

He also disqualified her from driving for 2.5 years and ordered her to pay $2100 in fines.

Convictions were recorded.