Revealed: Warwick drink or drug drivers exposed in court

From a high-range drunk driver who was found by police after crashing his car to a big weekend ending in a date with a magistrate, here are the latest drink or drug drivers to front Warwick court.

Police are busy responding to crashes across the region nearly every day, and a handful of these incidents are caused by drink or drug drivers.

From a concreter who blew a reading of a staggering 0.156 BAC after he crashed his car, to a dad who had a “silly weekend” with cocaine and cannabis in his system, here are the traffic offender taken off our regions roads, exposed.

CONVICTIONS RECORDED

• A Warwick concreter said he makes “no excuses” after flipping his car drunk and leaving it with $20,000 worth of damages.

Harrison Christopher Glasgow pleaded guilty on October 16 to driving under the influence after he was busted with a staggering reading.

On September 16, police responded to a crash on Warwick-Yangan Rd at Junabee, finding the 24-year-old concreter with his vehicle crashed on its side.

The court was told the vehicle was still running with its lights on, and was blocking both lanes of traffic. Parts of the car littered the road.

Harrison Christopher Glasgow plead guilty to driving under the influence on October 16 (Photo: File)

A welfare check was triggered when the man’s phone sent out an automatic SOS at 7.45pm.

Defence lawyer Bonnie O’Brien said her client made “no excuses and acknowledges he made the silly decision to drive after drinking at a friends house”.

“He has written off the vehicle and has to pay off $20,000,” she said.

The court was told the crash happened after Glasgow picked up his phone for a second, and looked away from the road.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess revealed Glasgow made admissions to drinking after work to police. When tested, he blew a staggering 0.156 BAC reading.

“You knew you’d be over the limit,’ she told him.

“You’re very, very lucky the worst that happened was your car got written off, you didn’t write somebody else’s car of and you didn’t kill or injure someone, which is a consequence that very much might have occurred.”

Glasgow was disqualified from driving for six months and fined $1200, and once the suspension from the roads is served, Glasgow will require to fit an interlock device on his vehicle.

• A “silly weekend” was all it took to ensure a dad ended up with a hefty fine and a ban from driving.

Kane Wightman was intercepted on Victoria St at Warwick on July 31, where he was found to have cocaine and cannabis in his system.

Kane Wightman recently appeared in Warwick Magistrates Court for drug driving

Wightman told the court it was result of a “silly weekend to deal with a silly problem” and pleaded guilty to drug driving.

The father of two said “I guess that’s how the cookie crumbles, I don’t want to make the same mistake again”.

“It will be difficult but that’s the consequences.”

The full-time cabinet maker was slapped with a $500 fine and suspended from driving for three months.

• A 18-year-old found in a ditch after “four or five beers” was quick to realise the error in his judgement.

Nicholas Bruce Winsor pleaded on October 23 guilty to drink driving while on a provisional licence.

Nicholas Bruce Winsor plead guilty to drink driving on October 23

On 9.30pm, October 1, Warwick police stumbled upon Winsor’s car in a ditch off East St in Warwick.

The P1-driver was ‘dropping people home” and had accelerated causing the vehicle to lose control.

The packer admitted he had “four or five beers” to police, and was found to have a reading of 0.043 BAC.

Magistrate Sturgess said the man’s actions were a “pretty dumb thing to do”.

“The minute you had one of those beers, you put your licence at risk,” she said.

Winsor was fined $350 and taken off the road for three months.

• A young driver admitted his reckless drugged-up driving was “stupid” after being busted on June 24, 2023.

Jake John McWaters pleaded guilty on October 16 to one charge of drug driving.

Jake John McWaters outside Warwick Magistrates Court on October 16

The 21-year-old apprentice welder was busted by Killarney cops on Acacia St at Killarney where he was found with cannabis in his system.

The apprentice welder told the magistrate his actions were “very stupid and dangerous”.

“It’s like being over the zero alcohol limit, if it’s there its an offence,” she said.

McWaters was fined $300 and taken off the road for three months.

• Jarrod Frank Belden was busted on the New England Highway, at Allora, on the afternoon of September 7, 2023.

He was intercepted by Highway Patrol, and after a drug test, was found to have cannabis in his saliva.

The court was told the father-of-three relocated from the Gold Coast with his family to build a prison at Gatton.

He told the court there was “no excuses” for his behaviour, but provided an explanation for the offending.

Belden said he suffered from Crohn‘s disease, and the only thing that helped with the pain was cannabis.

The magistrate said “it doesn’t matter whether you’re under the influence, if it’s in your system it’s in your system”.

“I’ll warn you that if you get another offence you’ll be looking at six months off the road.”

Belden was fined $300 and suspended from driving for three months.

• A Warwick man with a restricted provisional licence made the conscious decision to drive, which ended in him landing in front of the magistrate.

Hayden Neal Watts pleaded guilty to driving over the general alcohol limit but not the middle limit and driving between the hours of 11pm to 5am.

Hayden Neal Watts faced the magistrate for traffic offences on Octobre 16.

Watts was intercepted at 2.20am on Percy St at Warwick on September 30, where it was discovered the restricted provisional licence holder had a reading of 0.073 BAC.

Watts told the court the went out drinking that night and planned to leave his ute in town, and stopped drinking as he had a headache.

The court was told that by the time the truck driver left, he thought he’d be right to drive. He also said he didn’t know he was on a restricted licence.

“You should be well aware, you’re obviously not the best at judging,” Ms Sturgess said.

Watts received a $500 fine, and a three month licence suspension.