EXPOSED: Stanthorpe drink/drug drivers front court – full list

From a man found asleep behind the wheel of his car while more than twice the legal alcohol limit to a serial drug driver back before a magistrate, these were the people sentenced in Stanthorpe court for drink/drug driving. FULL LIST OF NAMES:

Picture: iStock​

A Stanthorpe man found asleep behind the wheel of his car while more than twice the legal alcohol limit was just one of the residents recently sentenced for drink or drug driving offences.

Police had to knock on the window to rouse William Lachlan James when they ran across his vehicle parked on Maryland St at about 1am on February 6.

Stanthorpe Magistrates Court heard he recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.107 at the scene.

A self-represented James said his licence was immediately suspended at the time, and was currently working on a farm but hoping to gain additional employment as soon as possible.

He was given a stern warning by magistrate Virginia Sturgess, who reminded the P-plater that any alcohol reading was too high for him.

“You should not have had any alcohol on board at all, let alone reaching 0.107,” she said.

James pleaded guilty to one count of being in charge of a motor vehicle while over the alcohol limit.

He was fined $600 and disqualified from driving for three months.

These were the other residents sentenced in Stanthorpe court:

A serial drug driver who left out of work when his licence was suspended after his latest offence has been given a stern warning against further brushes with the law.

Karl Jorg Scherbarth was busted on the New England Highway at about 4.30pm on February 11, where he tested positive to marijuana in his system.

Stanthorpe Magistrates Court heard he had been convicted of the same offence on three previous occasions.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess told Scherbath there was a limit to what the courts could offer to people who refused to help themselves avoid trouble, especially with his concerning traffic history.

“It’s all very well to come to court and say you can’t work without your licence and you need your licence, but what you need to do is not do things that are going to put your licence at risk,” she said.

Scherbath pleaded guilty to one count of drug driving. He was fined $400 and disqualified from driving for one month.

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A few drinks when he got home after his night shift proved enough to land Michael Stephen Whyte before a magistrate.

The Stanthorpe man was pulled over on High St at about 11am on March 5, recording a BAC of 0.052.

A self-represented Whyte told the court he finished work at a nearby bottle shop at about 2am the night before and had a couple of drinks when he got home, but thought he would be able to drive the next morning.

Whyte pleaded guilty to one count of drink driving. He was fined $350 and disqualified from driving for one month.

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A Stanthorpe father who claimed he “foolishly accepted” a hit of marijuana while hanging out with a friend has wound up in court for drug driving.

Dallas Noel Bolton was busted while driving on Sugarloaf Rd at about 12.30am on February 20, where he tested positive to the drug in his system.

The Stanthorpe court was told the man had previously been convicted of the same offence in 2016.

Defence lawyer Dorothy Switala said her client had spent a large part of his life travelling around Queensland and interstate as a truck driver, but significant family issues and trauma, including the death of his 10-year-old son in 2015, had forced him to cut back to farm work in the immediate area.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess acknowledged Bolton had suffered some tragedy in his life and was likely using drugs to self-medicate, but warned him it was “not really a solution”.

Bolton pleaded guilty to one count of drug driving. He was fined $350 and disqualified from driving for one month.

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Giving his friends a lift home after a few drinks at the pub turned out to be a costly favour for Aaron David Minifie.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa said the Stanthorpe man’s car was parked with the ignition running and headlights on when officers found it on High St at about 3am on March 6.

He told the Stanthorpe court that Minifie was in the driver’s seat with two obviously intoxicated women as his passengers and recorded a BAC of 0.063 at the scene.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess commended Minifie for completing the Queensland Traffic Offenders Program prior to his court appearance, as it showed he was taking his breach of the law seriously.

Minifie pleaded guilty to one count of being in charge of a vehicle while over the general alcohol limit.

He was fined $350 and disqualified from driving for two months, but was granted a work licence.

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Timothy James Addley was taken off the roads for a month after he was busted behind the wheel with both meth and marijuana in his system.

The Stanthorpe man was nabbed on Granite St at about 4pm on December 1 last year, where he tested positive to both drugs in his system.

Addley pleaded guilty to drug driving and was fined $350.

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A drink driver who was caught in the driver’s seat with the keys in the ignition claimed in court she was only trying to charge her phone.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa said officers’ attention was drawn to Michaela Paige Trethewey’scar when they noticed it had not been there during their recent patrol of High St only 10 minutes earlier.

Trethewey recorded a BAC of 0.065 while seated behind the wheel of the parked vehicle.

The mother-of-three told the court she had recently left a difficult relationship at the time of the offending, but had now stopped drinking and was focused on getting her life back on track.

Trethewey pleaded guilty to drink drivi]ng. She was fined $350 and disqualified from driving for one month.

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Luke Colin Paynter caught a lucky break when he was granted a work licence after pleading guilty to drug driving in the Stanthorpe court.

He tested positive to meth in his system when he was pulled over by police on the Cunningham Highway at Aratula at about 7pm on November 28 last year.

Paynter pleaded guilty to drug driving. He was fined $350 and disqualified from driving for two months.