Whitsunday drink-drivers, drug-drivers face court at Proserpine and Bowen
Drug-drivers outnumbered drink-drivers in the Whitsundays this week. See what brought 12 offenders to court.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Here is your round up of drink-drivers and drug-drivers sentenced in Whitsunday courts this week.
Whitsunday drink-drivers
1. Mark Ross Denkewitz
Proserpine Magistrates Court heard the 57-year-old concrete batcher had a 0.069 blood alcohol concentration when police caught him trying avoid a Midge Point random breath test site on August 28, making a sudden U-turn when he saw police lights.
When officers intercepted his vehicle on Peters Ave about 7pm, the father of two told them he had drunk three pre-mixed spirit cans and one stubby of beer after finishing work for the day.
Solicitor Lynda Hughes argued her client would have difficulty getting to work at Airlie Beach without a licence as there was no public transport from Midge Point.
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra noted Denkewitz had committed similar offences in 2007 and 2014 and said it was “disappointing” he continued to drink and drive “on a seven-year cycle”.
Mr Turra sentenced Denkewitz to pay a $500 and disqualified his licence for two months, with a conviction recorded.
He granted Denkewitz a restricted licence to get to and from work.
2. Janie Louise Ritson
The 20-year-old nurse was trying to get away from a group of “rowdy and aggressive” men when she drove from Airlie Beach to Cannonvale with a 0.109 BAC.
The court heard Ritson had been out clubbing with some acquaintances in the hours leading up to the September 12 offence, and became uncomfortable when she accompanied the group back to an apartment and they started yelling and throwing things.
Solicitor Madison Captain said her client drove to the Hungry Jacks on Shute Harbour Road at Cannonvale about 2.20am after phone calls to friends and family for help went unanswered.
When police pulled her over, she told them she had downed 10 Great Northern stubbies between 2pm and midnight.
Ms Captain said Ritson had recently started a new job at Shoal Point that at times required her to transport patients to medical appointments.
She said her client had completed a traffic offenders program and was extremely regretful and remorseful about her decision to drink and drive.
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra noted Ritson’s licence had been disqualified on demerit points when she was a P-plater.
He accepted her drink-driving offence was “a unique situation” but told her “you shouldn’t have been driving – you were at a level where you would’ve been affected and you were a danger to other road users”.
The sentence was a $500 fine and three-month licence disqualification.
A conviction was not recorded.
3. Leon Joseph Moriarty
The cane cutter haul-out driver dozed off while waiting for his name to be called at Proserpine Magistrates Court on Monday, and had to be woken by other members of the gallery when his snoring began to interfere with proceedings.
The court heard the cane cutter haul-out driver would lose his job as a result of a licence disqualification for drink-driving in Proserpine on August 12.
Moriarty blew 0.072 in a breath test on Fuljames Street about 8.30pm.
He told police he had drunk six cans of Great Northern and half a can of OP rum.
His solicitor Elizabeth Smith told the court her client was ineligible to apply for a work licence and that “he will he losing his employment as a consequence of losing his licence.”
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra imposed a $400 fine and a one-month licence disqualification.
A conviction was recorded.
4. Craig Athol Grooby
Grooby received a $1000 fine and seven-month licence disqualification for drink-driving on Leichhardt Street in Bowen on August 22.
Bowen Magistrates Court heard Grooby blew 0.116 in a breath test about 1.10am and he told police he had consumed “way too many” drinks.
Grooby told the court he had recently lost his job and moved to the Gold Coast to start a new job.
He said one of the police officers laughed at him when he exited the paddy wagon on the night of his offence.
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra said Grooby’s traffic history showed “a complete lack of adherence to road rules over the years”.
A conviction was recorded for driving over the middle alcohol limit.
5. Junior Haare Ashford
The 40-year-old unemployed New Zealand national received fines totalling just less than $1500 and a three-month licence disqualification for multiple traffic offences including drink-driving in Bowen on September 2.
The court heard Ashford blew 0.056 in a breath test on John Street about 4.45pm and was also found to be driving an unregistered and uninsured car, without a driver’s licence.
Solicitor Peta Vernon said Ashford was experiencing “personal issues” with his de facto partner at the time of the offending and “ran the gauntlet knowing he didn’t have a licence”.
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra deemed the offending “clearly just a stupid mistake” as Ashford had “never been to court for anything like this”.
Convictions were recorded.
Whitsunday drug-drivers
6. Justin Howard Colwell
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra fined Colwell $400 and disqualified his licence for one month for driving with marijuana in his system on the Bruce Highway at Proserpine about 7.15pm on August 10.
Pleading guilty to one charge of driving with a relevant drug present in blood or saliva, Colwell told Proserpine Magistrates Court he thought the marijuana he had smoked the night before was out of his system when he got behind the wheel.
He said there were “mitigating circumstances” around his offence as he had recently moved to the area to care for his mother who was “going to pass away soon”.
A conviction was recorded.
7. Dean Branden Bobak
Bobak pleaded guilty to driving with marijuana in his system on Shute Harbour Road at Cannon Valley on August 10.
Proserpine Magistrates Court heard he told police he had smoked a small amount of marijuana at a party one week before testing positive for illicit drugs.
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra imposed a $400 fine and a one-month licence disqualification.
A conviction was recorded.
8. Nathan Abbott
The Jubilee Pocket cafe manager pleaded guilty to driving with marijuana in his system on the Bruce Highway at Goorganga Plains on August 8, telling the court he “need[s] a bit to wind down sometimes”.
The court heard police drug tested Abbott about 6.20pm, and he told them he had used marijuana the previous afternoon.
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra noted Abbott was before the court for the same offence in 2020.
He imposed a $550 fine and a four-month licence disqualification.
A conviction was recorded.
9. Tia Rose Gabey
Gabey was in tears as she told Bowen Magistrates Court how losing her licence for drug-driving would impact her ability to get to work.
The social work student told the court she did not “usually” smoke marijuana but pleaded guilty to driving with the drug in her system in Bowen on August 30.
The court heard police drug tested Gabey on Sinclair Street bout 8.20pm and she told them she had smoked “two or three joints” two days earlier. She was also found to be the holder of a provisional licence.
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra said the incident must have been “embarrassing” for Gabey and accepted she was otherwise of good character.
He imposed a $350 fine and a three-month licence disqualification.
A conviction was recorded.
10. Amanda Maree Fenn
Fenn told Bowen Magistrates Court smoking marijuana was a “bad habit” she had had since she was a teenager and needed to kick for the sake of her children.
The 26-year-old casual cleaner pleaded guilty to drug-driving in Bowen in July and August this year, with marijuana the drug of choice on both occasions.
At the first police intercept, on John Street on July 14, the mother of two told police she had smoked four cones two days earlier.
At the second intercept, on Soldiers Road on August 6, she old police she was “a regular smoker of cannabis”.
Solicitor Peta Vernon told the court her client was “motivated moving forward to abstain from drug use”.
Fenn told the court “family dramas” had increased her drug use in recent years but she was determined to cut down so she could keep her licence and get her young daughter to and from school without relying on other family members.
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra told Fenn. “If you want to smoke, don’t drive.” He imposed a $1200 fine and an 11-month licence disqualification, with a conviction recorded.
11. Kyron Mark Casey
The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to driving with marijuana in his system on Livingstone Street, Bowen on July 14 but told police he had “been around people that do cannabis” not that he had smoked any himself.
Bowen Magistrates Court heard the contract cleaner had committed like offences in 2018 and 2020 and was on a probationary licence at the time of his July 2021 intercept.
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra fined Casey $1000 and disqualified his licence for eight months.
A conviction was recorded.
12. Benjamin Roy Eatough
Eatough received a $600 fine and five-month licence disqualification after pleading guilty to driving on the Bruce Highway at Bowen with methylamphetamine in his system.
Bowen Magistrates Court heard Eatough was on a probationary licence when he tested positive for illicit drugs about 4.30pm on August 18.
Acting Magistrate Rob Turra noted it was Eatough’s second time before the court within 12 months for a drug-driving charge.
Mr Turra said Eatough needed to take some steps to sort out his drug use and advised him to “go to a GP and get some assistance”.
A conviction was recorded.
Two men arrested for alleged brutal attack of fisherman
Mackay police have arrested two men following the alleged assault of a Sarina fisherman that left him with serious injuries requiring treatment in a Townsville hospital.
‘You take us for complete mugs’: Serial pest hit with $10k fine
A serial offender has claimed he’s seen the error in his ways and wants to go to rehabilitation after he was picked up on a six-month crime spree featuring dodgy cocaine.