Niel James Suttie appears in Roma Magistrates Court on charges more than 30 years old

A man stood before a rural magistrate prepared to finalise his charges – from more than 30 years ago. Find out why the charges are only being prosecuted now.

Niel James Suttie appeared in Roma Magistrates Court with charges more than 30 years old.

A former Queensland man has learnt the hard way that the law has a long memory after he faced court on offences that date back more than three decades.

Appearing before Roma Magistrates Court on Tuesday, Niel James Suttie stood before the magistrate on charges from the ‘90s.

The court was told Mr Suttie was charged with eight offences in May of 1991, but allegedly failed to appear in the Inala Magistrates Court for those charges in June 1991.

Mr Suttie was charged with three counts of wilful damage, two counts of stealing, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, dangerous driving, and possessing drug utensils.

Thirty-three years later, in the Roma Magistrates Court on June 25, Mr Suttie said he would like to have the matters finalised so that he might be able to start a new job away from Roma.

The court was told Suttie, now 50, was only apprehended on the dated warrant after he was arrested for a fresh offence in Roma in June 2024.

Mr Suttie, who was self-represented, told the court he had spent most of the time since 1991 in South Australia and it was unclear in court whether Mr Suttie knew there was a warrant for his arrest and whether he knew the charges were unfinalised.

Magistrate Melanie Ho said she was not prepared to finalise the matter on Tuesday.

“It’s a complicated matter, we’re not going to deal with it today,” she said.

Ms Ho encouraged Mr Suttie to liaise with Roma police so he might be able to report to another police station to fulfil his bail conditions, so he could start the new job.

Mr Suttie’s matter was adjourned to August 21 in the Roma Magistrates Court.