Michael Halfacre charged for drink-driving, drug possession, expired licence

A man from Cedar Party has agreed his actions were “ridiculous” in his appearance for five offences in Taree Local Court on Tuesday.

Michael Halfacre has been ordered to pay $1600 in fines after he was caught drink-driving, with drugs in the car, while holding an expired licence.

The 27-year-old sawmill worker from Cedar Party appeared in Taree Local Court on Tuesday.

Unrepresented, he stood before Magistrate Allison Hawkins for five separate charges over an offence from earlier this year.

27-year-old Michael Halfacre appeared in Taree Local Court this week.

At about 8.40pm on Tuesday, January 25, police were travelling north along Bent St in Wingham when they noticed Halfacre coming their way.

According to the agreed facts, as police approached the intersection of Farquhar and Dennes streets, the dark coloured Mazda “drove erratically around the corner” on to Bent St.

The car narrowly avoided colliding with the centre median strip, with evidence suggesting “had another vehicle been travelling through the intersection at the time, a collision could not have been avoided”.

Police u-turned to pull the Mazda over, conduct testing and ask Halfacre about the manner he was driving in.

When the officers turned around, Halfacre accelerated harshly, travelling well above the 50km speed limit.

As the Mazda approached the roundabout at Canget St, Halfacre continued to accelerate, travelling in the middle of the road.

According to the agreed facts, the car “drove sideways” into William St and continued at speed to Queen St.

As Halfacre turned in to Queen St, he switched the lights off and turned in to Fotheringham St before pulling over.

Police approached the single-occupant vehicle, and Halfacre told them “I don’t have a licence”.

Police checks found that, while Halfacre did hold a NSW licence, it had expired on April 30, 2016.

The driver was then breath tested, returning a positive result before he was arrested.

Halfacre then admitted to being a user of cannabis, as police detected an “extremely strong smell of cannabis” coming from the Mazda.

Police asked Halfacre if he was in possession of any prohibited drugs and he told them he had some under the front passenger seat.

Police then searched him and the car, finding a black shoulder bag in the car, which contained three resealable plastic bags with cannabis leaf, a pink crystal amphetamine substance, and a set of scales.

Halfacre told police he buys cannabis in bulk and that he had the scales to weigh the product after purchasing it earlier that evening.

He told police the pink substance was ‘gas’ and he intended to use it later in the evening.

The items were seized and Halfacre was taken to Taree Police Station where he undertook a breath analysis, returning a reading of 0.079BAC.

Halfacre appeared, unrepresented by a lawyer, in Taree Courthouse on Tuesday.

He told police he began drinking at the Australian Hotel, Wingham, at about 4.30pm.

In that time, Halfacre consumed three schooners of beer with dinner, followed by three cans of Woodstock after leaving the hotel.

The cannabis leaf was weighed at the station, 24.56g, as was the amphetamine, 1g.

This week, Halfacre told the court his “driving was ridiculous”, admitting that anyone who witnessed the incident “would’ve thought I was an idiot”.

When magistrate Hawkins asked why he was “driving like a lunatic, with drugs on you”, Halfacre said he was trying to get out of town after seeing police follow him.

“You had a fair bit of cannabis on you,” Ms Hawkins told Halfacre, before asking him if he was seeking help for his drug use.

The offender who told the court he thinks of himself as a “normal user”, and would not be doing anything to stop his drug use.

Police prosecutor Little told the court there were a number of concerning factors, including Halfacre’s manner of driver attracting the attention to police, his driving under the influence, and his traffic record which “is not unblemished for someone who has only been on the road for a short time”.

Although Halfacre has completed the Traffic Offenders Intervention Program since the offence, Ms Hawkins said he wouldn’t be returning to the road any time soon.

“There’s going to be a significant disqualification period because the legislation says there has to be,” she said.

For the drug possession, Halfacre was ordered to pay two fines of $300.

A $600 fine was granted for driving without a licence, and Halfacre was asked to pay an additional $400 for driving with low-range PCA.

The offender was also convicted and sentenced to a Community Correction Order for 12 months, commencing May 3, for driving recklessly at speed.

This order also includes supervision and participation in a drug/alcohol rehabilitation program.

Halfacre is disqualified from holding a driver’s/rider’s licence for 12 months from today.