Berwick’s Tania Weatherley with 33-page rap sheet warned stay off the booze or she’ll end up dead
A Berwick mum with a love of liquor has spent the past few years in and out of courts. Now a magistrate has given her some good advice — give up the grog or risk not seeing your kids grow up.
South East
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An alcoholic who has “more pages of priors than she has had birthdays” has been warned by a magistrate to stay off the booze or she’ll end up dead.
Tania Weatherley is just 28 but has a 33-page rap sheet for drinking, driving and violence-related offending.
The Berwick woman, who has now been sober for the past eight months, faced court again on Wednesday, pleading guilty to drug possession and court order breach charges.
The court heard two weeks after leaving jail in March this year she attended her mother’s Endeavour Hills home in defiance of a court ban.
She jumped the fence into the back yard, yelling loudly for her mum to come out.
But instead her brother came out and told her to leave.
She did, and was soon found by police sitting at a nearby bus stop in an intoxicated state.
When officers searched her they found a diazepam pill in her handbag, which she didn’t have a prescription for.
Her defence lawyer said it was accepted Weatherley had significant and extensive priors, but she was now getting treatment for her alcohol addiction.
She said she had attended AA, sought medical help from her GP and abstained from alcohol completely since the March incident.
She said that was the longest period of time since she began drinking at 14 that she had been free of booze.
In the past Weatherley has faced court, and been jailed, for serious incidents including assaults, refusing breath tests, disqualified driving and repeated bail breaches.
Magistrate Guillaume Bailin said these two offences were low level and a massive de-escalation of the types of crimes she had been committing.
He said it was pleasing to hear that she was getting the help she needed.
“You have more pages of priors than you have had birthdays,” Mr Bailin said.
“You have been so close to killing yourself by drinking.
“If you continue you will likely end up in hospital with life-threatening conditions.”
He said medical reports showed she was doing very well on her rehabilitation and it was important for the community that Weatherley continued on her path to recovery.
“Keep doing what you are doing, and stay off the alcohol,” he said.
“And you’ll be alive to see your children grow up.”
Weatherley was convicted and fined $300, and placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond with the condition she continued her treatment for alcohol addiction.
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