Skye Welch fronts Shepparton Magistrates’ Court and pleads guilty to theft, failure to answer bail

A Mooroopna mum says she doesn't want her daughter to go down the same path of drug use she did.

A Mooroopna mother who was drug driving and had a man’s licence and bank card in her handbag has pleaded guilty at the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court this week. Picture: Jack Colantuono

A Mooroopna mum says she doesn't want her daughter to go down the same path of drug use she did.

Skye Welch, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of theft, one count of dealing with property suspected of being proceeds of crime and one court of failing to answer bail at the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court this week.

In 2021, police approached Welch when she was parked in a no standing zone in North Melbourne.

Conducting a search, they found she had a man’s licence and debit card inside her handbag.

The mother was taken to the North Melbourne police station where she made full admissions to the theft.

Later that year, in an unrelated incident, her own licence was suspended.

In March 2022, police pulled over Welch in Murchison while she was driving a white Ford wagon near River Rd.

She took an alcohol breath test that returned a negative result before also taking a drug test which showed she was driving with a prescribed drug in her system.

Welch told police at the time she was unaware of her licence status and didn’t think she was drug driving.

“Well actually I didn’t think I was, I had them a couple of days ago,” the court was told she said at the time.

All roadside regulations were complied with.

Welch's defence lawyer said the 42-year-old mother didn’t want her daughter to go down the “same path” she was on in relation to the drug use.

Magistrate Peter Dunn dismissed the charges and ordered Welch to visit VicRoads to work out “what she needs to do” to get her licence back.