Ringwood Magistrates Court: Brieley Oates, Gabrielle Butland face drug driving charges

An unlicensed woman who was living in her car and was busted twice in 12 minutes was among the dodgy drivers who faced Ringwood Magistrates’ Court this week.

Two women faced Ringwood Magistrates’ Court over drug driving and other driving charges on June 15, 2022. File picture.

A woman who had been repeatedly caught driving unlicensed was living in her car when she committed her most recent offence, a court has heard.

Brieley Oates, of Pakenham, faced Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on June 15 after pleading guilty to drug driving and unlicensed driving charges.

The court heard Oates was pulled over by police in Wantirna South as part of a routine check on November 29, 2020, at 12.48pm.

She was driving unlicensed and given an immediate suspension notice.

Twelve minutes later she was pulled up again by police and was unable to produce her driver’s license.

She also failed an oral fluid test which detected methamphetamines in her system.

Prosecutor Hayley McDermott said Oates told officers at the time she thought the drugs were out of her system and she was driving to pick up her children.

The court heard Oates had three prior convictions for driving unlicensed, and one for driving while under the influence of drugs, which all occurred after her license expired in November 2015.

Oates’ defence lawyer, Bernard Campigili, said his client was living out of her car at the time of the incident, but had worked hard to rebuild her life over the past two years, and had already spent a lengthy period of time off the roads since the incident.

Magistrate Alistair Parsons fined Oates $400 and backdated her 12-month drivers’ license suspension to the time of the incident.

It cleared the way for Oates to reapply for her driver’s license, which Mr Parsons urged her to do, along with completing a drug driving behavioural program.

“This is your fourth time before the court in a relevant short time... sooner or later if you come back on this type of offending, your freedom will be at risk,” he told Oates.

“Go and get your licence, you will find it makes a difference to you and it will certainly keep you out of this institution.”

Meanwhile, a woman facing drug driving charges has had her case adjourned, as she was unable to provide accurate drug screening tests to the magistrate.

Gabrielle Butland was set be sentenced on Wednesday after previously pleading guilty to various drug driving charges.

Magistrate Alister Parsons requested results from three urine tests to determine whether Ms Butland could be spared a conviction.

However, Ms Butland’s defence lawyer told the court her client had smoked or used cannabis in the week of her first test.

She then told the court Ms Butland had abstained from using any substances since then and had “taken significant steps to address the issues before the court”.

Mr Parsons said cannaboids can take weeks to get out of the body and the concession from Ms Butland’s lawyer that “the urine screens are not clean may not be right”.

“If she wants to avoid a conviction, I want clear urine screens,” Mr Parsons said.

The matter will return to the court on July 12.