NAMED: Warwick drink/drug drivers sentenced in court – full list

A woman who rolled her car while close to three times the alcohol limit and a man who drove his lawnmower into town after deciding he was too drunk to get behind the wheel were just two of the people sentenced for drink/drug driving. SEE THE FULL LIST:

A woman who rolled her car while driving in wet conditions and at close to three times the legal alcohol limit was just one of the people sentenced in the Warwick court for drink or drug driving recently.

Emergency services were called to the scene of a single-vehicle rollover on Arnold St, Allora at about 8pm on March 27, where they found Lisa Michelle Musgrave’s car on its roof.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa told the Warwick Magistrates Court that Musgrave was driving in extremely heavy rain that night and appeared to have run off the road into a table train while turning the corner.

Sergeant de Lissa said the 50-year-old was then breathalysed at the scene of the crash and recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.135.

The self-represented Musgrave apologised to the court for her actions and said she had lost her job at the time due to her licence being immediately suspended.

“I have no excuse, Your Honour. There were mitigating circumstances, but nothing to justify the bad decision I made,” she said.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess told Musgrave she should consider herself fortunate to not have been seriously injured or harmed anyone else in her poor decision-making.

“Whether (the crash) was weather-related or not, it certainly wasn’t helped by the fact that you had had too much to drink,” Ms Sturgess said.

Musgrave pleaded guilty to drink driving. She was fined $600 and disqualified from driving for four months.

These were the other Warwick residents sentenced for drink or drug driving recently:

A decision to drive his ride-on lawnmower to the Apple and Grape Harvest Festival when he was unable to find an available taxi proved a costly choice for Nicholas Fransiscus Van Eden.

The 41-year-old was busted driving the mower on the footpath outside the Hotel Stanthorpe at about 8.30pm on March 4, operating the machinery with an open can of beer in hand and a shopping bag holding more beer beside him.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa told the Warwick court that Van Eden recorded a BAC of 0.146 at the scene.

Defence lawyer Michael Catanzaro said his client could not hail a cab due to the huge influx of visitors to the event, and foolishly thought driving the lawnmower would be “comical” rather than an offence.

“Our client owns a motor vehicle, which he could have driven that night, but he had the sense not to,” he said.

Van Eden pleaded guilty to drink driving. He was fined $400 and disqualified from driving for three months.

A Warwick woman who performed a sudden U-turn to try and dodge a police car while driving at more than twice the legal alcohol limit has fronted court.

Amy Jean Swan was found lying in the footwell of the driver’s seat when police caught up with her on Wine Dr in Toowoomba at about 4am on January 30.

Sergeant de Lissa said the 33-year-old recorded a BAC of 0.134 and her licence was immediately suspended at the scene.

Swan pleaded guilty to drink driving. She was fined $400 and disqualified from driving for three months.

A fender bender in the Warwick CBD has led to a drug driving charge and court appearance for a Warwick man.

Trevor Douglas Crookey was one of the drivers involved in a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Albert and Guy Sts on March 6.

Warwick Magistrates Court heard the 56-year-old was drug-tested at the scene and was soon found to have marijuana in his system.

The self-represented man said he suffered chronic pain and had been prescribed medicinal marijuana to treat it, but was also required to regularly drive to Yangan to care for his elderly mother.

Crookey pleaded guilty to drug driving. He was fined $200 and disqualified from driving for three months.

Being caught drug driving twice in less than two weeks cost Anita Therese McErlean her licence for the next year.

The Warwick woman was first busted with meth in her system while driving on Lyons St on February 27, and again only days later on Dragon St on March 5.

Sergeant de Lissa said these latest run-ins meant McErlean had now faced the court four times for the same offence in the past 12 months alone.

The self-represented woman said she had recently gone through an extremely difficult period in her life, going from being a homeowner living with her now ex-husband and children to being virtually homeless.

“This is not a lifestyle, this is just a stupid little hole I’ve fallen into and was climbing out of until this,” McErlean said.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess urged the Warwick woman to take these latest offences as a wake-up call and to put the money she was currently wasting on meth towards something more useful.

McErlean pleaded guilty to two counts of drug driving and was placed on probation for eight months.

A serial drug driver has been given a stern warning to finally learn his lesson before his offending costs him more than just his licence.

Callum Rhys Blackburn was caught behind the wheel with meth and marijuana in his system on Deuchar Bony Mountain Rd on March 2.

Sergeant de Lissa said the 23-year-old had fronted court for the same offence on three previous occasions in the past six years, and asked that this latest appearance attract a heavier penalty than a fine.

The self-represented Blackburn told the court he knew he had made a mistake and would now have to rely on his parents to drive him to work every day.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess said a lack of other traffic history meant it was “pretty obvious” the Warwick man’s problem was drug use, and urged him to kick the habit and recognise his licence as a privilege.

“This is now the fourth time since 2016, so you’re not learning the lesson, are you?,” she said.

“How long do you think it’s going to take for your parents to decide that at the age of 23, you have to start taking responsibility for yourself, and they’re not going to keep driving you around every time you throw your licence away?”

Blackburn pleaded guilty to drug driving. He was fined $900 and disqualified from driving for six months.

Michelle Peta Wilson was taken off the roads for a year after she was busted drug driving twice in less than a month.

The Warwick woman was first caught on Victoria St on January 24, where she tested positive to both marijuana and meth in her system.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa said it was only weeks later on February 23 that the 41-year-old was nabbed driving with the same two drugs in her system.

Defence lawyer Hamish Chapman told the Warwick court his client suffered chronic pain and was using drugs in an attempt to self-medicate, and relied on her licence to attend medical appointments.

Wilson pleaded guilty to two counts of drug driving and was fined $600.

Getting behind the wheel after drinking a beer with his boss at the end of a day’s work was labelled an “extremely foolish decision” from a Warwick man after it cost him his licence for three months.

Mathew Charles Bunn was busted with a BAC of 0.021 while driving on Hamilton St on March 2, well above the required zero-alcohol limit attached to his probationary licence.

Mathew Charles Bunn. Photo Deanna Millard / Daily News

Defence lawyer Amber Acreman said the 33-year-old had been working in Tenterfield and had a beer with his boss after knocking off, which was what pushed him over the limit when he drove home after the other man dropped him back to his car in Warwick.

The Warwick man appeared in court with a significant traffic history and had previously been given jail time for repeat disqualified driving.

Bunn pleaded guilty to drink driving and was fined $300.

Ryan James Moore was disqualified from driving for two months after pleading guilty to drink driving.

The 25-year-old was pulled over on Bracker Rd at about 11pm on February 18, where he recorded a BAC of 0.081.

Moore told the Warwick court “it was just a stupid decision” to get behind the wheel that night, and said he would now have to carpool to work with his brother until he could apply for a new licence.

He was also fined $500.

A Warwick P-plater was taken off the roads for four months after he was busted behind the wheel at just under three times the alcohol limit.

Police nabbed James Tristan Walker driving on Glengallan Rd at 11.40pm on March 25, where he recorded a whopping BAC of 0.149.

Defence lawyer Clare Hine said the 19-year-old worked as a fully-qualified carpenter and had never been brought before the courts, with his shocking reading driving his parents to bring him back to live at home and refuse to give him a lift to social events.

It was a sentiment echoed by magistrate Virginia Sturgess, who said Walker’s level of intoxication was “well over any error in judgment” he could have made, especially when his provisional licence required a zero-alcohol limit.

Walker pleaded guilty to drink driving and was fined $750.

A Warwick man busted driving with drugs in his system while on a learner’s licence has had his hopes of finally obtaining a full licence delayed by at least another three months.

Dylan Hendrix Selfe was pulled over on Freeston Rd on March 18, where he tested positive to marijuana in his system.

The self-represented 30-year-old said he had been unable to get his licence for several years due to SPER suspensions, and had been working his way up to a provisional licence when he had this latest run-in with the police.

Selfe pleaded guilty to drug driving. He was fined $200 and disqualified from driving for three months.

Stephen Michael Day caught a lucky break when he was granted a work licence after pleading guilty to drink driving.

The 52-year-old was busted at a random breath testing site on High St in Stanthorpe, where he recorded a BAC of 0.06.

Defence lawyer Michael Catanzaro told the Warwick court that Day had consumed a few drinks at home the night before and then decided to drive to McDonald’s at about 10am the next morning, mistakenly thinking he would be below the limit.

Day pleaded guilty to drink driving. He was fined $300 and disqualified from driving for two months.

Getting behind the wheel a few days after smoking marijuana at a house-warming party proved a costly exercise for Craig Andrew Humphrey.

Police nabbed the Warwick man on Albion St on January 6, where he tested positive to the drug in his system.

The 53-year-old told the court he had struggled with drug use in the past, but had recently moved from Pratten to Warwick in an effort to change his ways and become a better person.

Humphrey pleaded guilty to drug driving. He was fined $350 and disqualified from driving for a month.

Lance Gordon Tucker was taken off the roads for three months after he was busted drug driving on a major Warwick route.

The Grove Juice employee was pulled over on Wood St on March 4 and tested positive to meth in his system.

Tucker pleaded guilty to drug driving and was fined $400.