REVEALED: Southern Downs’ parents end up in court for behaving badly

From a mum without a licence whose ‘morning bong’ lead her to crash her car to a police raid which revealed a dad’s hidden weapons stash, these are the parents who have faced Southern Downs’ courts.

thumbnail various offenders who have appeared in Southern Downs' courts

From one Southern Downs dad raking in thousands from a lucrative drug empire, to a mum’s wild and violent pub brawl being uncovered, here are some of the parental offenders who have faced court in the region.

CONVICTIONS RECORDED

‘Morning bong’ leads to mum without a licence to crash car

A Warwick mum’s drugged up trip to the shops has landed her in front of a magistrate, charged with causing a three-car pileup in a busy shopping centre carpark.

Sandara Dee Dunn pleaded guilty to three charges, including driving while a relevant drug was in her saliva, driving without due care and driving without a licence repeat offender.

Defence lawyer Hamish Chapman said the 52-year-old was “very remorseful” after being caught on Palmerin St on December 24.

“Her partner wasn’t fit to drive at the time and needed medical help,” Mr Chapman said.

The court was told Dunn was found by police just before 10am on Christmas Eve after she had crashed into two stationary vehicles at Rose City Shoppingworld.

A roadside breath test saw Dunn test positive for cannabis and methamphetamine, to which she told officers she had used smoked cannabis through a bong that morning.

When asked to produce a driver’s licence, Dunn told officers she did not have one, and inquiries revealed it had been disqualified in 2007 and had never been applied for again since.

“You’re well aware you need a driver’s licence to drive, there’s absolutely no excuse, you’ve been told enough times,” magistrate Virginia Sturgess told the woman.

Dunn received a six-month suspension from driving and was fined $1200.

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Mum-of-four’s pub assault revealed

Kristie Jade Batson plead guilty to nine charges in July

A court has been told a mother of four threatened another woman with a barstool before arming herself with a knife, telling the victim “I’ll stab you”, with comments about the assailant’s ex-partner triggering the disturbing altercation.

Warwick woman Kristie Jade Batson, pleaded guilty on Monday in the Rose City’s Magistrates Court to a string of charges ranging from assault occasioning bodily harm, public nuisance, stealing and two drug driving charges.

She also pleaded guilty to a failure to appear charge, breach of bail charge as well as two counts of contravening a police direction.

The magistrate described the most “concerning” offending as the assault occasioning bodily harm and public nuisance charges, that related to an incident in Dalby at the Australian Hotel in November 2022.

The 33-year-old got into an altercation with another patron after the punter approached Batson and made a comment regarding an ex-partner, police prosecutor Sergeant Steve de Lissa said.

“They had a short conversation before walking away, before (Batson) turned around and punched the victim on her left cheek, then pushing her and pulling her on the ground by her hair,” Sergeant de Lissa said.

Batson grabbed a barstool and began holding it to the woman in a “threatening manner” and began to swing it.

The court was told Batson yelled “you better watch your back, I’ll come after you and your mum.”

Defence lawyer Sarah Campbell told the court the 33-year-old had been using drugs to “self-medicate” since she was 13, and it had grew into methamphetamine use.

Ms Campbell noted the offending was a “stupid decision”, “out of character” and was “emotionally driven and reactive”.

“Majority of the offending was drug related, but my client presents with the fact she has never committed an offence of violence,” Ms Campbell said.

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Dad’s large-scale drug empire crumbles

Farron Roy Winkworth outside Warwick District Court on Wednesday 31 May

A Southern Downs dad learnt his fate in court after his drug operation was uncovered and the true scale of his offending was revealed.

Farron Roy Winkworth faced Warwick District Court on May 31 facing a raft of charges relating to a drug operation that Winkworth orchestrated saw him receive more than half a kilogram of cannabis a week from metropolitan suppliers, as well as actively seek out customers.

The court was told during the sentence that Winkworth was motivated “purely by profit” and not to feed a drug habit of his own.

Additionally, there were other charges which Winkworth further pleaded guilty to, including possessing property used in connection to a drug offence, being three phones used to arrange deals.

Furthermore, a final three summary charges mentioned – two charges of possession $13,320 suspected of being proceeds of crime, as well as possessing antidepressants without a script.

The court was told the now 40-year-old’s business was “booming” and that he supplied drugs on “at least 130 occasions”.

By March 2022, Winkworth was raking in tens of thousands of dollars, and had reached out to supply methamphetamine to clients.

Legal officer acting on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions Sarah Hibbert told the court the operation went from December 2021 to April 2022, with Winkworth selling quantities at both street level and at wholesale.

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CCTV downfall of dad-of-11 following park bashing

John Politis leaving Warwick Magistrates Court on Wednesday, November 30, 2022.

A Warwick father of 11 faced court following a brutal assault in a popular park which left a man in hospital.

John Politis appeared in Warwick Magistrates Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm while in company, possessing cannabis and drug utensils.

The 50-year-old and a second person brutally assaulted a co-worker of Politis in Leslie Park on May 22.

The court was told Politis yelled in the face of the man asking the whereabouts of some money, before punching the man in the face.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Steve de Lissa told the court Politis kicked the man in the head while he was on the ground, which left the man hospitalised with facial and body injuries.

CCTV footage picked up Politis and the other man approaching the victim, restraining him before viciously beating him.

Politis was on probation at the time for an earlier drug possession offence from August 2021.

Politis was sentenced to a total of 15 months imprisonment, but was immediately released on parole. He was also fined $650 for breaching the earlier probation order relating to the 2021 matter.

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NO CONVICTIONS RECORDED

Dad’s bizarre ‘inappropriate’ midnight road trip exposed

A Warwick man’s decision to “visit his kids” with a carload of people just before midnight has resulted with him ending up in court.

The man – who cannot be named for legal reasons – pleaded guilty to contravening a domestic violence order by visiting his children in a bizarre late-night road trip while they were asleep.

The Warwick-based 23-year-old made the trip on February 4 to Goondiwindi to “see his children with consent of the mother”, Warwick Magistrates Court was told on February 22.

Defence lawyer Sarah Campbell told the court the man “was in a relationship with the aggrieved in which they had two children together” before the relationship ended.

“Since they had been together, there’s been issues within the family, between the aggrieved and the man’s sisters, it’s a part of a larger issue in which the sisters are involved in,” Ms Campbell said.

Ms Campbell told the court that the man had a “positive attitude” in regards to moving forward with the woman and their children.

Magistrate Virginia Sturgess told the man that 11.30pm, when the children were asleep, was “not an appropriate time to visit”.

The court was told the man and a “carload” of people arrived at the woman’s address, and she was in her bedroom as the man yelled out from outside that “he wanted to talk with the kids”.

Not wanting any drama, the court was told the woman allowed the man inside but requested the carload of people to leave.

The man then yelled something back at her, to which the woman told the man to come back tomorrow, while he continually asked where the kids were and requested the woman came outside to talk.

The court was told the conversation turned into an argument relating to the family drama, which angered both parties, with the woman again telling the man to leave.

The man then yelled out again “where are my kids” and “I’ll be coming back” before being told the police were coming to the address.

The man then yelled “f--k this” before driving away.

“Just turning up in the middle of the night and hoping to get a good reception is not the way to do it, that’s unhealthy,” magistrate Virginia Sturgess told the man.

The man was given a $600 fine with no convictions recorded.

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Mum claims ‘she didn’t know growing cannabis was illegal’

A Warwick mum was been slammed by a magistrate during her appearance in court after she claimed to not know growing cannabis was against the law.

Warwick woman Kate Ellen Simmonds appeared in Warwick Magistrates Court on December 12, 2022, where she pleaded guilty to seven charges ranging from drug possession, driving under the influence of drugs and producing drugs.

On May 25, the 40-year-old mother was caught being in possession of 3g of cannabis during a random traffic stop, which ultimately led to her testing positive to having cannabis and methamphetamine present in her saliva.

Simmonds told police at the scene the cannabis found was hers and that she had purchased it to smoke later.

The court was told Simmonds then failed to provide her identifying particulars as directed by police which led to a contravening direction charge on September 21.

On October 13, a search warrant on Simmonds’ home was executed after something was identified by Australia Post.

The court was told police found five cannabis plants in an upstairs room at the address, which Simmonds lead them to saying they were “hemp plants.”

Simmonds told the police: “I didn’t know growing cannabis was illegal.”

The search of the house continued, revealing Simmonds had 10 bags of cannabis totalling 18.5g on her person, while other containers were found containing the drug.

The search also turned up three electronic scales and a pipe used to smoke the drug.

“She is a drug addict, her addiction began 15 years ago when she ruptured a disc in her back and was prescribed oxycodone, at the height of her addiction she was using ice, heroin and cannabis,” defence lawyer Clare Hine said.

Simmonds was released on a two year probation order and suspended from driving for six months. No conviction was recorded.

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Mum-of-11’s drug crimes to feed habit exposed

A morning police raid has uncovered a drug operation lead by a Warwick mum, which landed her in front of the magistrate.

Robyn Maree Conran on Monday pleaded guilty to one charge each of possessing and supplying dangerous drugs, and one charge of possessing drug utensils that had been used.

The 44-year-old’s drug operation was revealed after a search warrant was activated on April 25, which revealed the offending had been occurring from January 1.

The police raid revealed 15 grams hidden in the kitchen as well as digital scales.

Police examined mobile phone messages, which indicated the mother of 11 had been selling the drug.

Conran told police the operation had been going since the start of the year and she had been selling to people all around Warwick.

Defence lawyer Clare Hine told the court 10 of 11 children still live at home with her and had began smoking cannabis to deal with insomnia.

“She supplied cannabis to family and friends, as well as people she knew, and it was purely to fund her own use of cannabis,” Ms Hine said.

“You need to take steps to address what’s at the bottom of this, why are you using cannabis and why are you branching out to supplying it to support your habit,” magistrate Virginia Sturgess told the woman.

Conran was sentenced to a 12-month probation. No convictions were recorded.

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Police crackdown on Dad’s weapon cache hidden in family home

A Warwick father of three has ended up in front of a magistrate who labelled him “slack” and “careless” after weapons were located improperly stored in the family home during a police search.

Warwick Magistrates Court was told a police search of Tristan Robert Taylor-Woods’ home on January 13 unveiled weapons in his home, with officers finding a telescopic baton and handcuffs in his bedside table.

Police also found two registered firearms which were stored away as is required by law in a gun safe, however the safe was in a cupboard, which did not comply with regulations.

The court was told police also found ammunition which was also not stored correctly in another compartment of the bedside table.

The gun safe was not bolted down correctly as required by law, and when police questioned Taylor-Woods about it he told them “he was going to move it down to the shed when he got the chance.”

The 33-year-old truck driver pleaded guilty to four charges including failure to store ammunition, possessing restricted items, unlawful possession of a weapon (category M) and possessing a restricted item on May 15.

“They’re very good public safety reasons the requirements are the way they are. I think this offence is more in relation to you being slack or careless in terms of your obligations as a licenced weapons holder,” magistrate Virginia Sturgess told the man.

“You’ll need to demonstrate that you are effectively a person who can be trusted with weapons.”

Taylor-Woods was fined $600 and the items were forfeited. No conviction was recorded.

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Originally published as REVEALED: Southern Downs’ parents end up in court for behaving badly