Warwick’s newest drink or drug drivers sentenced in court - full list

From an unlicensed man who collided with another vehicle while over the alcohol limit to another man who claimed his whopping reading was just a ‘misjudgment’, these are the latest residents sentenced for drink or drug driving. FULL LIST:

A Warwick man who collided with another vehicle while driving over the alcohol limit and having never held a licence was just one of the residents recently sentenced in court for drink or drug driving.

Cassidy Robert Ryan was involved in a two-vehicle crash in Rockville at about 6.30am on March 1, in which he collided with the other vehicle on an unregistered motorcycle while not wearing a helmet.

Police prosecutor Andrew Grafton told Warwick Magistrates Court that Ryan initially rode his damaged bike away from the scene, but later called an ambulance due to his injuries.

Sergeant Grafton said the 21-year-old was later interviewed by police at the hospital and recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.079, telling officers he had consumed a few drinks the night before his early-morning trip to a mate’s place.

“He said his actions were stupid and he didn’t think much about it,” he said.

The Warwick court heard Ryan had been under a suspended jail sentence up until about a month before the crash, with his significant criminal history also earning him several previous probation orders.

Duty lawyer Sarah Campbell said her client struggled with mental health concerns including ADHD and an undiagnosed mood or personality disorder, which were exacerbated when his partner suffered a miscarriage earlier this year.

She said Ryan spiralled to the point he lost his job as a concreter in Toowoomba and had since moved back to the Warwick area, where he was now relying on his sister for financial support.

“He puts down the driving and the poor decision-making to his youth and, by his words, a ‘lack of maturity’,” Ms Campbell said.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess said Ryan’s lengthy traffic and criminal histories supported his argument, especially as he should never have been on the roads at all having never held a licence.

“You not only put yourself at risk – clearly, you had to be taken to hospital – but driving around while you’re unlicensed, inexperienced, and driving with alcohol on board, you might well have put another person’s life at risk and that’s simply not acceptable,” she said.

“It’s getting to the stage, Mr Ryan, where I have to prioritise community safety over your youth and silliness.”

Ryan pleaded guilty to one count each of drink driving and unlicensed driving.

He was sentenced to six months’ jail with immediate release on parole, and was disqualified from driving for two years and six months.

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Being nabbed behind the wheel at almost three times the legal alcohol limit nearly seven years before he was caught driving on a suspended licence in Warwick earnt a man a hefty fine and licence disqualification when he faced court.

Kyuboong Choi first landed himself in hot water when he was pulled over in Bowen in August, 2015, where he recorded a BAC of 0.147.

Police prosecutor Andrew Grafton told the Warwick court that the 40-year-old told officers at the time that he had been drinking at the town’s Grand View Hotel before driving.

Choi avoided another brush with the law until July 31 this year, when he was caught driving on a suspended licence on Wallace St.

The court was told Choi had been working as a fruit picker across the state in the intervening period, but had plans to return to his home in South Korea later this month.

Choi pleaded guilty to one count each of drink driving and driving on a suspended licence.

He was fined $800 and disqualified from driving for two and a half years.

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A man caught driving through Warwick at more than triple the alcohol limit claimed his whopping reading was a simple ‘misjudgment’.

Shaquille Christopher Duncan was nabbed by police on Victoria St in the early hours of the morning on July 14, and recorded a BAC of 0.178 at the scene.

Defence lawyer Hamish Chapman told the court his client was driving home from a State of Origin party with family, and misjudged how much he had to drink throughout the night.

His explanation was given little credit by magistrate Virginia Sturgess, who told Duncan he should have known better than to get behind the wheel when he was that intoxicated.

“A misjudgment is 0.05 (or) 0.06, or a morning-after reading where you think you’ve allowed enough time to sleep it off, but when you’re returning a reading of 0.178 then you really should be aware of that,” she said.

Duncan pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of liquor.

He was fined $950 and disqualified from driving for six months.

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A Warwick mother and repeat drug driver again caught behind the wheel with a substance in her system has claimed she was using the drug for pain treatment.

Christina Nichole Candise Love was nabbed by police on Dragon St on March 20, with later testing showing marijuana in her system.

The 31-year-old told the court she had a bad back and was now trying to get a medicinal marijuana prescription to treat the pain, but knew she would be disqualified from driving for several months as she had previously faced court for the same offence.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess told Love her traffic history revealed she had struggled to comply with road rules for many years, and it was likely the reason she had only recently progressed to the provisional licence that she had now “managed to throw away again”.

Love pleaded guilty to one count of drug driving. She was fined $450 and disqualified from driving for four months.

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Smoking a couple of joints to help cope with the sudden death of a good friend landed Laurence Robert Wagner in court after he was busted drug driving.

The 59-year-old was nabbed by police on Grafton St on June 22, with later testing showing marijuana in his system.

Warwick Magistrates Court heard that Wagner told police at the time that he had smoked the drug with friends following the wake for his close friend of 30 years, who was killed in a workplace incident earlier this year.

Wagner pleaded guilty to one count of drug driving. He was fined $300 and disqualified from driving for one month.

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Mark Anthony Selfe fronted the Warwick court after he was busted behind the wheel with marijuana in his system in June.

A self-represented Selfe told the court he was prescribed medicinal marijuana to deal with the chronic pain he had suffered since a serious motorcycle crash, and preferred the treatment to opioid painkillers as it allowed him to be a part of the community.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess said she would convict but not fine Selfe for the offence and disqualified his licence for the minimum one-month period, but warned him that taking marijuana legally did not make him less responsible for drug driving.

“You’ve got to make a choice about what’s more important – if taking the (marijuana) is helping you and you want to continue taking it, you might have to choose that over having a driver’s licence,” she said.

Selfe pleaded guilty to drug driving.

A Warwick mum busted drug driving on a provisional licence has claimed she was driven to the offence by desperation.

Breanna May Kaizer was nabbed while driving on Glen Rd on April 7, with later testing showing marijuana in her system.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa told the Warwick court Kaizer had been convicted of the same offence in New South Wales in 2020.

The 21-year-old told the court she had recently moved to Queensland to escape domestic violence and her mother was battling cancer, which sent her spiralling into a deep depression.

“The night before I was done driving, I was really depressed in the head and it was at the point I didn’t know what to do with my life, and to be honest I wanted to end it,” she said.

“My best decision was to either end my life or smoke a bit of marijuana and go to bed. I understand that was the wrong decision and have since stopped taking the drugs.”

Kaizer was commended by magistrate Virginia Sturgess for starting to see a counsellor and trying to get her life back on track for her three-year-old daughter, but reminded her that no extenuating circumstances excused her offending.

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

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A repeat drug driver has been warned to “keep away from the drugs” or risk being off the road for a long time.

Robert Charles Baron told the court he smoked a joint at a party two weeks before he was pulled over by police along Victoria Street on June 3.

Ms Sturgess said it was clear from the 50-year-old’s history that he had previously had a problem with drugs, and noted he had a prior conviction for drug driving.

The Dalby man pleaded guilty to drug driving and was fined $500 and banned from driving for three months.

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A boss’s decision to get in his car and rescue an employee whose car had broken down on the highway has proved costly, after he was charged with drink driving.

David Barry Etherington was more than twice the legal limit when he got into his car after 10pm on July 13 to help his worker.

Etherington told the court he was compelled to help after hearing a tow truck was 45 minutes away.

“I took it upon myself to go out there to help him because he was in a precarious spot and was actually standing on the back of his ute with his phone as a torch,” he said.

Etherington was stopped for a random breath test on Glen Rd, where he recorded a BAC of .104.

Ms Sturgess told the 50-year-old the breakdown was no excuse for drinking driving, saying that if the employee felt unsafe he should have called the police.

The Warwick man pleaded guilty to drink driving and was fined $650 and disqualified for three months.

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A Warwick man who has worked hard to turn his life around said he feels disappointed in himself after being busted drug driving.

Kieran William Donovan was pulled over while driving his Nissan skyline on the morning of July 17.

A drug test returned a positive result for marijuana.
The 28-year-old spray painter told police he’d smoked 2g the previous evening, saying he used the drug to relax after battling anxiety, depression and insomnia.

Ms Sturgess noted this was Donovan’s fifth drug driving offence, and urged him to pursue access to medically prescribed marijuana.

Donovan pleaded guilty to drug driving and was fined $500 and disqualified from driving for six months.

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A previous drug driving conviction meant his second run-in with the law in just a few years earnt Henry Anthony Leonard Brazier a three-month licence disqualification.

The 32-year-old Warwick man tested positive to marijuana in his system when he was nabbed on Albion St on June 11.

Brazier pleaded guilty to drug driving and was fined $300.

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Paul James Harris was taken off the roads for one month after he was nabbed driving with marijuana in his system.

The 51-year-old was busted by police on the afternoon of July 7, with later testing revealing the presence of the drug.

Harris told the Warwick court that he had previously undergone spinal surgery to treat injuries he had suffered in a motorcycle crash and a few rodeo incidents, and was no longer able to take other painkillers because they made his stomach bleed.

The Clifton man said he left three days between smoking marijuana and driving in an attempt to clear his system, and only used the drug if he was in extreme pain.

Harris pleaded guilty to one count of drug driving and was fined $100.

No conviction recorded

Sebastian Bahram Johnson was taken off the roads for one month after he was nabbed driving with several drugs in his system.

The 20-year-old was busted with both MDMA and marijuana in his system when he was pulled over by police on Victoria St on June 19.

Johnson did not offer any explanation for his drug driving when he faced the Warwick court, but acknowledged the severity of his actions and asked that no conviction be recorded due to his minor history and youth.

“I would just like to apologise to the court and the community for putting lives at risk and my lapse in judgment, and I want to take responsibility for my actions,” he said.

Johnson pleaded guilty to drug driving and was fined $350. No conviction was recorded.

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A Warwick man caught driving with meth in his system had claimed his recent brushes with the law have prompted him to get his life back on track.

Michael David Connell was nabbed for drug driving on Pratten St on May 22.

The 21-year-old told the Warwick court he had been busted with drugs in his home at about the same time, and his recent court appearances had driven him to move back in with his mother and focus on staying away from drugs.

Connell pleaded guilty to drug driving. He was fined $250 and disqualified from driving for one month.

No conviction was recorded.

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A Warwick man will be off the road for a month after being nabbed driving along Gore Street with marijuana in his system.

Kieran John McNeilly was stopped just after noon on June 3 and given a roadside drug test.

The court heard the 28-year-old had no prior history.

He pleaded guilty to drug driving and was also fined $150.

No conviction was recorded.