James Charles Brown pleads guilty to dangerous, disqualified driving

A dangerous driver who ripped around Mackay’s busy streets will not be able to get his licence back until almost 2030. Find out why he’s spent more than 10 years of his life behind bars.

A dangerous driver who ripped around Mackay’s busy streets will not be able to get his licence back until almost 2030.

Magistrate Damien Dwyer blasted the 30-year-old Mackay father as having an “absolutely disgraceful” history including eight convictions for disqualified driving.

He also has a history of unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

For his offending, James Charles Brown has spent 195 days in custody and he will not be freed yet.

In fact, Mackay Magistrates Court heard he has spent more than 10 years of his life behind bars.

Brown pleaded guilty to 15 charges between August and December 2021 including dangerous and disqualified driving and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

The dangerous driving involved driving through intersections, swerving sharply and veering into ongoing traffic causing other motorists to brake suddenly.

The court heard he had also been jailed for 12 months for disqualified driving in 2020.

“You are not a man of good character,” Mr Dwyer said.

“You deliberately drove the motor vehicle despite knowing that you did not have a current licence.”

Brown was actually eligible to get his licence back this year but instead he’s been disqualified for seven-and-a-half years.

Defence solicitor Paul Broughton said his client had been exposed to domestic violence growing up and, when he was age 16, his only brother took his own life.

The court heard he had spent a lot of time in jail and in that time had been mistreated which was part of ongoing investigations.

Mr Broughton said Brown’s drug use and “wanting to help out a mate” had driven much of the offending but added his client was “doing very well in prison”.

Mr Dwyer said rehabilitation could not be counted out yet and that Brown had already spent too long behind bars on remand.

Brown was jailed for 15 months, suspended immediately after time already served.

“You’re going to get out today. I’ve known you for a long time and you’re going to go back again,” Mr Dwyer said.

The jail term will hang over Brown’s head for the next two years.

“No way in the world are you going to go two years without breaching it,” Mr Dwyer said.

“I’m telling you if you do go back, when you do go back, you will do the lot.”

Originally published as James Charles Brown pleads guilty to dangerous, disqualified driving