James Harley Brown pleads guilty to carrying prohibited item, disqualified driving

After a passenger’s card was declined at the service station, she got back in the car seemingly without telling the driver.

James Harley Brown was charged over a fuel drive off even though he a court heard he was not aware the fuel had not been paid for.

A DRIVER who was not aware of the fact his passenger failed to pay for fuel when she went into the service station has been hit with an unusual charge in an Ipswich Court this week.

James Harley Brown pleaded guilty in Ipswich Magistrates Court to a charge of being a person in a motor vehicle who carried out a prohibited item at Karalee on April 27; and driving at Booval when disqualified by court order.

Prosecutor Sergeant Trent Voigt said police intercepted the car Brown was driving soon after the fuel offence was committed that afternoon.

Sgt Voigt said a female passenger went into the service station to pay for the fuel but the bank card was declined.

She then walked back to the car and Brown drove off, seemingly not aware that she had not paid for the fuel.

Sgt Voigt said Brown had no involvement in the offence, and he was only being charged on the basis that he was the driver at the time.

“I was driving but I didn’t know,” Brown explained to the court.

“Why were you driving when disqualified,” Magistrate Jacqueline Payne asked.

“I don’t want to waste your time. I plead guilty to it,” Brown said.

Ms Payne said Brown had been disqualified at the time for evading police.

That two-year licence disqualification had been imposed in April 2020.

She noted that he had an unenviable traffic history that included driving when drug positive, but no previous conviction for driving when disqualified.

Ms Payne convicted and fined Brown $750, and disqualified him from driving for another two years.