Lloyd Gordon Day sentenced for Gladstone drink driving incident

Police were called to a Central Queensland shopping complex where a man was driving around the carpark and “screaming violently”, but things got worse from there.

Lloyd Gordon Day, 59, was sentenced in Gladstone Magistrates Court after a drink driving incident turned ugly. Generic image.

A Central Queensland drink driver who called police “faggots” and threatened to push them into traffic, has been sentenced.

Lloyd Gordon Day, 59, pleaded guilty in Gladstone Magistrates Court on Monday to drink driving, failing to provide a specimen of breath, and obstructing police.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Merrilyn Hoskins said on May 1, police were called to the Drakes Calliope shopping complex where Day was driving around the carpark and “screaming violently.”

Sgt Hoskins said just after midday, police intercepted Day and he failed to provide a sufficient specimen of breath twice.

“He was argumentative and tried to grab the alcometer (breathalyser) from the arresting officer’s hand,” Sgt Hoskins said.

Day was warned about failing to provide a specimen and he still declined to provide one.

Sgt Hoskins said Day responded by calling police “faggots” and “threatened to push them into the traffic.”

When Day was placed under arrest, he resisted.

The court heard Day grabbed a female police officer’s vest with his right arm, and reached “underneath her arm and around to her neck.”

“He continued to resist arrest and was thus obstructing her and the male officer in the performance of their duties,” Sgt Hoskins said.

The prosecutor said Day was eventually put in a police vehicle and taken to the police station where, upon a secondary breath test, he returned a reading of .126.

Day told police he had consumed an unknown quantity of wine the previous night.

Gladstone Courthouse.

The court heard Day was on a suspended sentence for an obstructing police offence at the time he committed this one, and he was also on other suspended sentences.

Solicitor Cam Schroder said Day formerly worked as a machine operator for 40 years and his was “a tragic story.”

“My client is 59 years of age, he’s unemployed - he has very little prospect of work,” Mr Schroder said.

“He’s lived in the family home at Calliope for 59 years.

“His father did not have a will, his mother did not have a will.

“After proceedings in the District Court, the end result is that, other family members will inherit the... house - he’s been given a notice to evict.

“He shortly will be homeless - he does have a bit of an alcohol problem.”

Prior to imposing penalty, Magistrate Mary Buchanan noted that as well as the suspended sentence, Day had prior assault occasioning bodily harm, serious assault of police, and obstruct police offences on his criminal history.

She sentenced him to three months’ jail, wholly suspended for an operational period of 12 months.

Day was also fined $850 and disqualified from driving for five months.

Ms Buchanan extended all of the suspended sentences by 12 months and convictions were recorded.

Originally published as Lloyd Gordon Day sentenced for Gladstone drink driving incident