Chinchilla Magistrates Court: Drink or drug drivers busted on Western Downs roads

A number of drug or drink drivers have been forced to surrender their licences after appearing in Chinchilla Magistrates Court. DETAILS HERE.

A series of drivers have faced Chinchilla Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with a slew of offences including drink driving and driving while unlicensed.

CONVICTION RECORDED

• Joshua Desmon Hammermeister was charged with driving with a drug present in his saliva and not holding a licence earlier this year.

Magistrate Bain said the 40-year-old had an extensive history of driving offences dating back 20 years and had fronted court on four separate occasions for driving under the influence of methamphetamine, marijuana and alcohol.

He was issued an immediate 12 month loss of licence and sentenced to seven days in prison, suspended for a six-month period.

• Cameron Francis Penn also faced court charged with driving without a licence as a repeat offender after being pulled over by police for a licence check on March 23, 2024.

The court was told the last time Penn had held a valid licence was in May 2022 and he had been driving without it for the past two years.

Penn told the court he needed to obtain a medical certificate to drive due to his type one diabetes but had failed to organise it with his GP.

He received a one month licence disqualification and was told not to drive until he had obtained his licence.

He was also fined $500 and a conviction was recorded.

NO CONVICTION RECORDED

• Meanwhile, 18-year-old Matthew Leonard Winfield lost his licence for three months and was hit with a $500 fine after recording a blood alcohol reading of 0.061 while on his provisional licence.

The court was told Winfield was detected just after midnight on March 23.

He told the court he had been drinking heavily the night prior and magistrate Bain noted he was lucky to have blown a relatively low reading.