Rockhampton drivers punished for drink, drug or unlicensed driving

A number of motorists who got behind the wheel after drinking, using drugs or while unlicensed have been punished in Rockhampton Magistrates Court. Read the full list here.

Like a lot of other people in the region, Jake Anthony Crear’s Christmas was spent in the pool with a drink in hand.

But his night ended with the loss of his licence after blowing over the limit.

Crear pleaded guilty in the Rockhampton Magistrates Court on January 11 to one charge of drink driving.

On Christmas night police were conducting a RBT site on Moores Creek Road where Crear was pulled over.

During the intercept Crear told officers he had spent the day in the pool and had been drinking.

He said he hadn’t had a drink for some time as he had fallen asleep on the couch.

The court heard officers observed Crear to have glassy eyes and could smell alcohol.

He participated in a breath test which returned a positive result for alcohol before a secondary test returned a reading of 0.113.

Crear, who was self-represented in court, said he had made a “bad decision” that night.

He was fined $800 and was disqualified from holding a licence for four months. A conviction was recorded.

A number of other motorists who got behind the wheel after drinking, using drugs or while unlicensed have been punished by magistrates in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on January 10 and 11.

Ricky Orbison had a blood-alcohol content (BAC) reading of .087 when he was intercepted driving along Morgan Street, Kabra, on December 11, 2021 at 10.05pm.

Orbison pleaded guilty to the single drink driving charge in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on January 10.

Police prosecutor Courtney Brown said Orbison told police he was at Kabra Hotel having dinner and a few drinks and was drinking light beers only and didn’t realise it would put him over the legal limit.

Orbison told the court he normally didn’t drink but it was a Christmas dinner.

He was fined $500 and disqualified from driving for two months.

Ricky Orbison appeared in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on January 10, 2022.

Riley Lindsay Jaques was unlicensed when he was involved in a crash on Diplock Street, Rockhampton, on December 21, 2021 at 1.26pm.

Jaques pleaded guilty to the single unlicensed driving charge on January 10.

Police prosecutor Courtney Brown said Jaques’ driver’s licence was disqualified in Rockhampton Magistrates Court for one month on February 17, 2021.

Ms Brown said Jaques told police he had been driving to Centrelink and had failed to reinstate his driver’s licence after the disqualification period and was unlicensed.

Jaques told the court he tried to reinstate his driver’s licence online but was advised he had to do it at the Department of Transport and Main Roads and didn’t have any transport there.

He was fined $600 and disqualified from driving for two months with a traffic conviction recorded.

Roger William James had a BAC of .211 when he was intercepted in his vehicle beside Central Park Motel on Murray Street, Allenstown, on December 4, 2021.

James pleaded guilty to the single drink driving charge in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on January 10.

Police prosecutor Courtney Brown said police were called to reports of an intoxicated male driving in and out of the driveway to Central Park Motel.

Ms Brown said James told police he had just driven the vehicle to that location as he was staying at the motel and police noted his speech to be slurred and that he smelt strongly of liquor.

She said James was holding a can of XXXX Gold with the remainder of the empty cans and carton beside him on the passenger’s seat.

James told the court he had driven his car up to the motel to get his gear out of it.

He said there were cans in there from when he was with some mates.

“I should have thought twice,” he said.

He was fined $2000 and disqualified from driving for 14 months with a traffic conviction recorded.

Ratnakumar Kanagaratnam, 47, was under the influence of liquor when he was involved in a crash on Moores Creek Road, Rockhampton, on December 11, 2021 at 11.15pm.

Kanagaratnam pleaded guilty in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on January 10 to one count each of driving under the influence of liquor and driving without due care or attention.

Police prosecutor Courtney Brown said police were called to the crash by members of the public that reported the vehicle had driven up the wrong side of the road and into a street light.

Ms Brown said police spoke to a witness who told them they had taken Kanagaratnam’s keys as he was trying to leave.

She said Kanagaratnam had difficulty getting out of his vehicle, was swaying while standing in place and would fall over, had bloodshot eyes and smelt strongly of liquor

She said due to Kanagaratnam’s intoxication, he was unable to provide a sufficient sample of breath for testing.

Defence lawyer Ashley Reynolds said her client, who worked at the meatworks, was at a party drinking when he received a phone call from his family in Sri Lanka that advised him his father had died.

“He tells me he wasn’t thinking clearly and wanted to go straight home,” Ms Reynolds said.

“He is very sorry for what he has done.”

Kanagaratnam was fined $2600 and disqualified from driving for 15 months with convictions recorded.

Originally published as Rockhampton drivers punished for drink, drug or unlicensed driving