Six offenders faced Gladstone Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged with driving offences

From tripling the legal limit to forgetting about a driving suspension, six drivers faced Gladstone Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged with various offences.

From tripling the legal limit to forgetting about a driving suspension, six drivers busted doing the wrong thing faced Gladstone Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged with various offences.

Ronald Charles Brown, 50

A midday drinking session landed a man in hot water after he was intercepted by police driving on a major highway, a court heard.

Ronald Charles Brown, 50, pleaded guilty in Gladstone Magistrates Court on Tuesday to drink driving.

A court heard that on October 30, around 6.50pm, police intercepted Brown driving on Dawson Highway, Calliope.

He submitted to a roadside breath test which returned a positive result and he was taken to a police car for further testing and questioning.

When questioned, Brown made admissions to drinking between 10 and 12 beers since midday.

A second breath test returned a positive blood-alcohol reading of .106 and Brown was issued a notice to appear in Gladstone Magistrates Court.

Magistrate Bevan Manthey convicted and fined Brown $700 and suspended him from driving for three months. A conviction was recorded.

Michael Kenneth Comley, 41

An Agnes Water caravan park handyman faced the prospect of losing his job if he lost his licence.

Michael Kenneth Comley, 41, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Bevan Manthey to unlicensed driving.

A court heard that on October 19, around 5pm, Calliope police intercepted Comley driving a white Toyota wagon on the Bruce Highway at Miriam Vale.

Police checks on Comley’s licence revealed he was driving unlicensed due to his Northern Territory licence being suspended due to a cessation of business order.

He offered no lawful or emergent reason for driving at the time.

Comley said losing his licence would not be good for him and he had just spent the best part of 2021 splitting up with his wife of 16 years.

Mr Manthey convicted and fined Comley $600, however, recorded no suspension on his licence. A conviction was recorded.

Huntah Klaye Gumz, 22, pleaded guilty to drug driving in Gladstone Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Huntah Klaye Gumz, 22

A young father made admissions to smoking a dangerous drug the night before he was intercepted by police driving on a busy thoroughfare.

To make matters worse for Huntah Klaye Gumz, 22, he had lost his job the day before appearing in court.

Gumz pleaded guilty to drug driving while the holder of a provisional license.

A court heard that on September 9, around 11.25pm, police intercepted a Toyota and Gumz produced his provisional licence for police.

After a roadside drug test returned a positive result he was taken to a police vehicle for further questioning.

There he made admissions to smoking marijuana the night before his interception.

Magistrate Bevan Manthey said his penalty had to factor in that Gumz did not have history of a like nature in the past five years.

Gumz was convicted and fined $500 and suspended from driving for three months. A conviction was recorded.

Jake Michael Nice, 23

Jake Michael Nice, 23, pleaded guilty to driving Under the Influence of Liquor in Gladstone Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

A machinery operator was caught driving on a major Gladstone region road while under the influence of liquor.

Jake Michael Nice, 23, pleaded guilty to driving Under the Influence of Liquor.

Police prosecutor Kelvin Boyd told the court Nice was intercepted on November 11, around 4.30pm, driving on Gladstone-Mount Larcom Road.

A roadside breath test returned a positive result and he was taken to Gladstone police station for further testing.

When questioned, Nice said he did not have an emergency reason for driving that afternoon.

His second breath test returned a positive blood-alcohol reading of .162, he was issued a notice to appear in Gladstone Magistrates Court.

Magistrate Bevan Manthey convicted and fined Nice $1000 and suspended him from driving for six months. A conviction was recorded.

Geordie Thomas Crosby-Thomas, 24

A Gladstone man left a busy pub in the town’s CBD to fight a mate at a Kirkwood address, a court heard.

Geordie Thomas Crosby-Thomas, 24, pleaded guilty to drink driving.

A court heard that on November 6, Crosby-Thomas was at the Reef Hotel having drinks with some mates and consumed a large amount of alcohol.

He left the pub and drove to a Kirkwood address where he parked his car in the driveway and left the car running.

It was at that address he engaged in a fight with a man and police were called.

When questioned, Crosby-Thomas made admissions to driving to the address after consuming 10 Canadian Club beverages since 3pm that afternoon.

Crosby-Thomas’ breath test returned a positive result of .126 per cent and he was issued a notice to appear in Gladstone Magistrates Court.

Crosby-Thomas’ duty lawyer Bianca Wieland said her client went out to catch up with a mate, which ended in a disagreement with another one of his friends.

Ms Wieland said her client was fully cooperative with police, which was why he was breath tested and charged.

Magistrate Bevan Manthey convicted and fined Crosby-Thomas $900 and suspended him from driving for three months.
Whitney Hutana Pedersen, 32

A Gladstone private school staff member smoked marijuana which was being passed around at a house party she was at, a court heard.

Whitney Hutana Pedersen, 32, pleaded guilty to drug driving.

A court heard that on October 24, around 11.51am, police intercepted Pedersen driving on Centenary Drive, Tannum Sands for a roadside drug test.

When Pedersen’s roadside drug test returned a positive result she was taken to a police vehicle for further questioning.

Pedersen, a Chanel College laboratory technician, made admissions to smoking a marijuana joint which was being passed around at a party she attended the night before.

Additionally, Pedersen told police smoking marijuana was not something she usually did and she would not be doing it again.

Police laboratory checks confirmed the presence of marijuana in Pedersen’s saliva and she was issued a notice to appear in Gladstone Magistrates Court.

Pedersen’s duty lawyer Bianca Wieland said her client had informed her she did not feel under the influence of marijuana while driving.

Magistrate Bevan Manthey convicted and fined Pedersen $400 and suspended her from driving for one month. No conviction was recorded.

Originally published as Six offenders faced Gladstone Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged with driving offences