EXPOSED: Warwick’s badly behaved drivers

Your full list of the latest people sentenced for drink and drug driving offences in the Rose City.

BAD ROAD BEHAVIOUR: A number of drivers were sentenced for drink/drug driving and more. Picture: Flickr/Jesper Wittorff

WHETHER drunk, drugged-up, or plain dangerous, a number of people are convicted of reckless driving in Warwick court every week.

Here’s a wrap of the 10 residents sentenced in the Warwick Magistrates Court this week for drink or drug-driving and more.

Jeffrey Anthony Ware told the court the was trying to get help for his drug use after being nabbed drug driving twice in just four days. The court heard the 55-year-old was stopped on Warwick-Killarney Rd and then Gladfield on March 15 and 19 respectively.

Each time he returned a saliva test that was positive for methamphetamines.

Magistrate Julian Noud noted Ware had three prior drug driving convictions and said it was clear fines were not deterring his dangerous actions.

Ware was placed on probation for 12 months and disqualified from driving for the same period.

Warwick police busted Michael Paul Jarman driving through town with less than a gram of methamphetamines stashed in the centre console of his car on July 20. He got into further trouble when he failed to attend the police station to give personal details the following week.

Defence lawyer Patrick O’Donnell told the court the 53-year-old confused the meth for marijuana, which was usually his “drug of choice”.

Jarman pleaded guilty to one count each of possessing a dangerous drug and contravening a police direction. He was fined $350.

Nathan William Britt landed in hot water when he tested positive for meth during a random breath test on Forde St in Allora on July 11.

The 27-year-old was also busted for smoking with one of his young children in the car and driving despite never holding a licence.

Britt pleaded guilty to one count each of drug driving, unlicensed driving, and smoking in a vehicle in the presence of a child aged 16 and under. He was fined $550 and taken off the roads for six months.

Rickie Samuel Williams’ found himself in strife after knocking back several beers between 8.30am and midday while painting his sister’s Ipswich house on July 22.

The 63-year-old was intercepted by police on Beaudesert-Boonah Rd, where he recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.07.

Williams pleaded guilty to one count of drink driving. He was fined $350 and disqualified from driving for two months.

James Arthur McKittrick was sprung driving on Warwick-Allora Rd carrying a kitchen knife he claimed was necessary for “personal protection” in June.

McKittrick pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a knife in a public place. He was fined $150 and a conviction was not recorded.

A midnight drive to Warwick McDonald’s after a night of drinking earned Damian Caleb Gillham a $800 fine and six-month driving disqualification, after he was caught at more than twice the limit.

The 26-year-old was pulled over by police on Victoria St on August 9, where he recorded a BAC of 0.119.

Gillham told the court the offending was “very out of character” for him and prompted by struggles at home.

He pleaded guilty to one count of drink driving.

Clinton James Thompson was initially pulled over for a minor traffic infringement, but found himself in more trouble when police officers detected alcohol on his breath.

The 40-year-old was stopped on Herbert St, Allora on June 19, where he recorded a BAC of 0.113.

Thompson pleaded guilty to one count of drink driving and was fined $650. He was granted a work licence.

Year 12 student Sean Robert Bryson was taken off the road for three months after being caught driving while more than twice the legal limit. The 18-year-old was stopped on Albert St at 1am on July 26, where he had a BAC of 0.106.

Defence lawyer Claire Hine said her client had celebrated his birthday but stopped drinking around 10pm. Mrs Hine said he took a chance in giving a friend a lift home three hours later but was pulled over by police.
He pleaded guilty to drink driving and was also fined $450. No conviction was recorded.

Victoria Jane Barry was disqualified from driving for three months after she was caught driving unlicensed on Oleander St in Killarney on July 20. The 18-year-old mother of two was unable to explain why she was on the road.

She was fined $250 and her conviction was not recorded.

Horse and Jockey manager Lisa Elizabeth Marston said she had no idea she would be over the limit when she was called in to help a colleague.

Marston said her duty manager asked her to assist when police couldn’t attend at 1am on July 18. She was stopped by police on Victoria St, where she recorded a BAC on 0.068.

Marston, who represented herself in court, said she would have never driven if she thought she was over the limit.
She pleaded guilty to drink driving and was taken off the road for two months and fined $350. No conviction was recorded.

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