Proserpine Magistrates Court and Bowen Magistrates Court appearances for drink-driving or drug-driving
A farm worker caught driving without headlights at 3am told police she was just ‘driving around the corner’ to avoid a parking fine. She got much more than she bargained for after a breath test.
Police & Courts
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Here is your round-up of drink or drug-drivers busted on Whitsundays roads in recent weeks.
Drink-drivers
1. Kyle Christopher Graham
The concreter received a $300 fine and two-month licence disqualification for drink-driving in Proserpine after a session at the Metropole Hotel.
Proserpine Magistrates Court heard Graham had a 0.082 blood alcohol concentration when police pulled him over on Taylor Street about 7.15pm on Thursday, August 5.
Graham told police he had downed four schooners of heavy Great Northern beer and one schooner of XXX Gold before getting behind the wheel.
2. Jason Eric Hedges
Described in court as “an absolute danger to society”, 46-year-old Hedges lost his licence for life and received a nine-month suspended jail sentence for driving under the influence, without a licence, on Shute Harbour Road at Jubilee Pocket, on August 10.
The court heard Hedges drank three to four full strength stubbies before hitting the road and blew 0.173 when police stopped him for a breath test.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Jay Merchant told the court Hedges’ licence had been disqualified since 2019 and his “terrible” history indicated he was “a clear and present danger to himself and also to members of the community in terms of drinking and driving”.
Defence solicitor Peta Vernon said her client lived in Cairns but had been in Airlie Beach at the time of the offending for a painting job.
She said the stubbies “affected him probably more than it usually would” because he had not been wearing appropriate PPE while painting.
3. Sheree Veronica Vanderpoll
The pharmacy worker lost her licence for two months and received a $350 fine for drink-driving after a seafood lunch at La Marina restaurant in Airlie Beach.
The court heard the mother-of-two blew a 0.079 BAC with a male passenger in the car about 4pm on Shute Harbour Road at Cannonvale, after drinking two-and-a-half glasses of white wine with her seafood platter on August 30.
4. Sailosi Narara
Magistrate James Morton told the Fijian telecommunications worker he “should’ve drank Kava” instead of beer on the night that led to his drink-driving charge.
Bowen Magistrates Court heard Narara blew 0.081 in a breath test on August 18 after drinking eight to nine schooners the previous night.
Mr Morton fined Narara $350 and disqualified his licence for one month, with a conviction recorded.
5. Maria Sofia Winter Donoso
The Bowen farm worker, visiting Australia from Chile, came to the attention of police for driving in Airlie Beach without headlights about 3am on September 4.
A subsequent breath test returned a reading of 0.136 and checks found the car she was driving along Golden Orchid Drive was unregistered.
The 27 year old told Proserpine Magistrates Court she was “only driving around the corner to avoid receiving a parking fine in the morning”.
Magistrate Morton fined her $900 and disqualified her licence for six months.
6. Tahlia Rose Woolnough
Woolnough, 21, was running late to get to work on Daydream Island after a night out at Magnums Bar when she found herself in trouble at a random breath test site on Shute Harbour Road at Jubilee Pocket.
The court heard the waitress drank five to six vodka sunrise cocktails on the Friday night before she returned a 0.059 BAC about 10am on Saturday, September 4.
Magistrate Morton fined Woolnough $400 and disqualified her licence for two months.
7. Zeihdu Marianne D’Uguilar
The stay-at-home mother told Proserpine Magistrates Court she “didn’t think [she] was that far gone” after drinking seven schooners of Hahn Premium Light at Magnums Bar on August 17.
But D’Uguilar has been taken off the road for three months, and received a $500 fine, after police busted her with a 0.135 BAC on her way home to Cannonvale about 7.15pm.
D’Uguilar told the court she “would like to be shown a little mercy” in sentencing as losing her licence would cause issues in caring for her son who had a brain injury.
She said she did not normally drink much but on the night of the offending she had “been going through domestic violence and just couldn’t handle it any longer”.
Drug-drivers
8. Joel William Hill
The photographer and musician was fined $350 and had his licence disqualified for one month for driving after using marijuana to help him sleep.
The court heard Hill suffered from acute silicosis after six years working as a stonemason and had smoked a joint in the early hours of the morning on July 21 before police stopped him for a drug test on Jubilee Pocket Road at Jubilee Pocket.
9. Joel Michael Day
The Airlie Beach burlesque venue Hush Bar general manager received a $350 fine and had his licence disqualified for two months for driving with methylamphetamine in his system in Airlie Beach on July 28.
The court heard it was 2.53am when the 33 year old returned a positive drug test on Shute Harbour Road and told police he had taken an ecstasy tablet the previous Sunday.
Day told Proserpine Magistrates Court he was “letting loose” after going through a separation.
“It was a lapse in judgment and a blow out,” he said.
The court heard Day was on an 18-month suspended sentence for other matters at the time of the offending.
Magistrate Morton said he would be required to appear before Mackay Supreme Court to be “further dealt with”.
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