Cranbourne P-plate ice driver nabbed three times in six weeks warned he will be jailed next time

A magistrate has given a dressed-up triple drug-driver a dressing down, warning him any more serious traffic crimes could mean he spends time behind bars instead of behind the wheel.

Brett Slade was caught drug-driving three times in six weeks.

A 21-year-old P-plater caught drug-driving three times in six weeks has been told to clean up his act or he’ll end up in jail.

Brett Slade was nabbed in Cranbourne and Narre Warren, high on ice twice in January and once in February this year.

On two occasions he was suspended from driving at the time, and one time he was caught in an unsafe car.

Slade, sporting a bow tie and ponytail and supported by his parents, pleaded guilty to a range of driving charges at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court today.

The court heard the Cranbourne driver came to the attention of police about 2am on January 1 while driving his Holden sedan along Columbia Rd in Narre Warren.

He was pulled over and tested positive for ice, telling officers “yeah” when asked if he had taken drugs recently, and adding he was “stupid” for getting behind the wheel.

But just 10 days later he was seen driving at a fast food restaurant in Cranbourne, and again tested positive for ice.

He was suspended at the time, having lost his licence for six months on January 4.

A month later, on February 10, he went for the trifecta, driving while high on ice on Thompson Rd in Cranbourne.

Police found him driving suspended and drug-affected in a dodgy vehicle with an array of defects, including a smashed headlight, broken exhaust and a tyre worn down to the canvas.

He denied taking drugs this time, but his saliva analysis proved otherwise, recording another positive.

His defence lawyer said Slade had been “using ice for some time” and this offending was concentrated around a six-week period following a relationship breakup.

She said since then he had had intensive rehabilitation for his drug use, was having ongoing counselling and planned to move to Wedderburn in country Victoria.

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Magistrate Julie O’Donnell said he was arrested three times for the very same thing in a very short period of time.

“That didn’t (reality) check him, it would most people, but not him,” Ms O’Donnell said.

But she said she wouldn’t sentence him today, instead deferring until November 25.

“I need to see if his excellent progress will continue; he needs to be serious about his rehabilitation,” she said.

She said if he remained clean and offence free there was a chance he could walk away next time with a fine but any more crimes, especially drug or suspended driving, would likely mean jail.

He also lost his driving licence for 12 months.