Sophie McCarthy: Magistrate halts doped-up thief’s court case

A Hastings crook has rocked up to online court drugged-up to the eyeballs – while on bail with a condition she not use illicit substances.

Sophie McCarthy has appeared at an online court hearing while highly drug-affected.

In strange scenes played out in an online hearing a magistrate has realised halfway through a court case the defendant was as high as a kite.

Sophie Louise McCarthy appeared at the virtual Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday to plead guilty to a series of theft-related offences.

During the hearing the Hastings 33-year-old looked dazed, disorientated and disinterested.

She couldn’t work out how to turn her camera around, and once she did, she kept wandering off screen.

When she was in view her eyes were glazed, she was fidgeting and didn’t seem to be paying any attention to what was going on.

McCarthy was in the process of pleading guilty to crimes including handling stolen welders and generators when her bizarre behaviour caught the magistrate’s eye.

She had also admitted trying to use a stolen cheque to withdraw $500 from a bank and being in possession of nicked IDs, Medicare and bank cards that had been taken from cars and properties in Hastings, Somerville and Moorooduc.

A few minutes into the police summaries being read out Magistrate Richard Pithouse stopped the case.

“Is your client drug-affected?” he asked.

“I have grave concerns that she is, she certainly appears it today.

“Her eyes, her movements, her facial interactions — I’m not a doctor but I’ve been around courts long enough to know when someone is drug-affected.”

Defence lawyer Amity Krieger said “I don’t disagree”.

Mr Pithouse then tried to warn McCarthy she was at risk of cops coming around and locking her up.

“You’re barely conscious of what is going on,” Mr Pithouse said.

“One of your conditions of bail is not to take drugs.”

McCarthy said “yeah”.

Mr Pithouse told her she had better not be drug-affected at her next online hearing.

“If you appear on screen like this again I will revoke your bail and you will be going straight to jail,” he said.

McCarthy was ordered to appear at court again on September 3.