Eight nights out in the Burnett that ended in court dates
From a woodcutter who left a bartender with a broken nose to a mum who screamed vile racial slurs at police in a maccas car park, here are nights out in the Burnett that went horribly wrong.
Police & Courts
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From a Murgon timber cutter who narrowly avoid jail over a drunken barfight to a Kingaroy mum who racially abused a cop who tried to break up an altercation here are eight Burnett nights out that went horribly wrong.
CONVICTED
A Murgon timber cutter narrowly avoided jail time after a night out at the Wondai Hotel turned ugly, with a bartender left with a broken nose and officers spattered in blood.
The court heard the bartender told Wilson he was “cut off”, prompting him to throw back the remainder of his drink and throw the glass at the staffer.
Despite other patrons attempting to hold him back, Wilson struggled free and punched the bartender in the face, breaking his nose.
Wilson pleaded guilty in Murgon Magistrates Court to two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, serious assault of a police officer and wilful damage.
He was sentenced to 12 months’ jail but released on immediate parole.
He was also ordered to complete 160 hours of community service.
A Gayndah nurse suffered a head injury after getting behind the wheel drunk and crashing, with her own father finding her crawling from her smashed-up car.
Shania Rose Roth lost control of her car on Gayndah-Mundubbera Rd at Mt Debateable, with a magistrate describing the moment her dad found her injured among the wreck as “just terrifying”
Roth appeared in Gayndah Magistrates court and pleaded guilty to one charge of driving under the influence of liquor over the August 21 crash.
Roth was represented by lawyer Leanne McIntosh, who told the court her client had gone for Friday night drinks with her sister and friends.
Roth was fined $900 and disqualified from driving for eight months.
A traffic conviction was recorded.
A Kingaroy judge blasted a repeat drink driver who was found driving with a very high blood alcohol level.
Jason Allan Law faced Kingaroy Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of liquor and driving while SPER suspended.
Police intercepted Law on the Bunya Highway in Wooroolin and discovered he was driving on a licence that had been SPER suspended.
Law also returned a BAC reading of 0.265.
he was sentenced to 12 months probation.
His licence was also suspended for 18 months for the drink driving charge, and three months for driving with a SPER suspended licence.
After attempting to break up an altercation at the McDonald’s, a police officer of Asian descent endured “vile” racist slurs from a Kingaroy mother, who among other things called him a “Chinese c--t”.
Standing before the Kingaroy Magistrates Court, Natasha Rose Smallwood, 33, pleaded guilty to a charge of public nuisance following the early morning altercation.
Magistrate Andrew Sinclair placed Smallwood on a 12 month period of probation, intended to assist her deal with the underlying causes of her behaviour.
A conviction was recorded.
CONVICTION NOT RECORDED
A man who got behind the wheel of his car while over the blood alcohol limit, subsequently rolling off the Bunya Highway in Wooroolin has been left in thousands of dollars of debt.
Gregory Duane Wood pleaded guilty to one charge of driving under the influence of liquor and a drug at Kingaroy Magistrates Court.
The court heard police attended a single vehicle rollover on the Bunya Highway in Wooroolin where they located a white Mazda that had rolled off the highway.
Wood, the driver of the vehicle, provided a blood alcohol reading of 0.168.
According to police prosecutor senior sergeant Pepe Gangemi, Wood had consumed four cans of rum and cola since five in the evening and smoked cannabis that night.
“He said he left the address because he was bashed by twenty people,” Sen Sgt Gangemi said.
Wood represented himself and said he was at an ex’s friend‘s place for a birthday.
Wood was fined $500 and disqualified from holding or obtaining a drivers licence for 12 months.
No conviction was recorded.
A Nanango man has walked from court with a $750 fine after getting behind the wheel of his friends car under the influence of drugs and more than two times over the general alcohol limit without a licence, before crashing into a tree.
Tom Barratt-Coates pleaded guilty to one charge of driving under the influence of liquor at Nanango Magistrates Court.
The court heard Barratt-Coates drove a vehicle on a property off the Burnett Highway with cannabis in his system and a blood alcohol reading of 0.125.
He subsequently crashed the vehicle into a tree.
Barratt-Coates was fined $750 and disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence for six months.
No convictions were recorded.
A binge drinking session has left a Kingaroy teenager with an expensive bill after he was found passed out in the street before ripping apart a fly screen door.
Mitchell Peter Andrewartha pleaded guilty to one charge of wilful damage at Kingaroy Magistrates Court.
Police prosecutor Senior Sergeant Pepe Gangemi told the court on September 11, 2020 at 4.20pm a resident at an address on Rosedale Street in Kingaroy observed the teen passed out on her mailbox.
“She approached the defendant to see if he was ok before the defendant got up, hugged her and started babbling incoherently,” he said.
“The victim freed herself from the defendant’s grip, went inside and locked the doors before the defendant tried opening the doors saying ‘let me in’.
“He then ripped out the mesh panelling from the security door.”
Andrewartha was ordered to pay $481.80 in restitution and released on a good behaviour bond of $300 for six months.
No conviction was recorded.
A grandmother who started 2021 off by downing 18 beers before getting behind the wheel has been reminded by a judge just how dangerous drink driving can be.
The grandmother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty in Murgon Magistrates Court to driving while under the influence on Tuesday, February 2.
Police Prosecutor Sergeant Barry Stevens told the court the woman was intercepted for a routine check at 7.10am on January 1.
She admitted to police that she had consumed 18 stubbies of XXXX Gold beer between 10.30am and 3am the night before and returned a reading of 0.077 BAC.
The woman was represented by Mark Oliver, who told the court she “didn‘t feel drunk”.
“Her granddaughter needed to be driven home,” Mr Oliver said. “She did what most grandmothers do.”
She was convicted and fined $500, referred to SPER and was disqualified for 3 months.
Originally published as Eight nights out in the Burnett that ended in court dates
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