LIST: Drink or drug drivers in Proserpine Court

A skipper, a mum-of-three and an Italian citizen were among those who appeared in Proserpine Magistrate Court this week. DETAILS

Proserpine Court House on Main Street.

A skipper, a mum-of-three and an Italian citizen were among those who appeared in Proserpine Magistrates Court Court on Monday, September 30 for drink or drug driving matters.

Convicted

METH AND MARIJUANA

Mitchell Anthony Boswell had a cocktail of drugs in his system when police pulled him over on the Bruce Highway.

Proserpine Magistrates Court heard on July 11, 2024, police received information from an anonymous person via PoliceLink about the manner of a Nissan Pathfinder’s driving.

Officers intercepted the Nissan Pathfinder in question and checks revealed Boswell did not have a licence, he also returned positive readings for meth and marijuana.

Boswell admitted he’d lost his licence from accumulating too many demerit points and that he used illicit drugs in the “last few days”.

He attended court via video link from prison, and pleaded guilty to one count of driving without a licence and driving while a relevant drug was present in his system.

Boswell was fined $500 and disqualified from driving for three months, convictions were recorded.

Convictions not recorded

ALCOHOL, METH AND MARIJUANA

A mum-of-three was two and a half times the legal alcohol limit when police pulled her over in the early hours of the morning.

Tests revealed she also had drugs in her system.

Rebecca Leigh Holliday said she had no excuse for her behaviour, but explained she was new to the area at the time, having relocated from the Gold Coast.

She pleaded guilty in Proserpine Court for driving while over the middle alcohol limit and with drugs present in her saliva.

Rebecca Leigh Holliday pleaded guilty in Proserpine Court for driving while over the middle alcohol limit and with drugs present in her saliva.

“I’ve had a really tough time in Airlie Beach … I was trying to get home and it’s hard to get a taxi where I live,” Holliday said of her behaviour on August 10, 2024.

She was stopped on Seaview Drive and recorded a 0.135 blood alcohol reading.

A drug test returned positives for meth and marijuana.

Holliday said she’d since gotten a job at AVIS car rentals, but was suspended when she informed them of her charges.

The court heard Holliday told police she’d “consumed a few drinks” that evening and “smoked some cannabis” around 8.35am that day before she left home.

Holliday was disqualified from driving for three months, fined $1100, and required to install an interlock device. A conviction was not recorded.

MDMA AND MARIJUANA

Italian citizen Filippo Morandini told the court he felt “completely sober” when he agreed to pick up a friend around midnight on August 4, 2024.

Morandini was driving his WA-plated LandCruiser when he was stopped by police on Shute Harbour Rd in Cannonvale and subjected to a saliva drug test.

Morandini told police he’d smoked “a joint” the day before, but believed he was sober.

A roadside drug saliva test. Photo: NSW Police / Supplied

Testing came back positive for MDMA and marijuana.

“I was completely sober and I was surprised about the drug test,” Morandini said.

“I was surprised after 24 hours the drugs were still in my system.”

He pleaded guilty to driving with a relevant drug in his system.

According to Australian Drugs Testing, while the effects of cannabis last one to three hours, the drug itself can remain in someone’s system for weeks.

Morandini told the court he works as a sailing instructor and had been “travelling for many years” driving on his Italian licence.

Because Morandini possessed an overseas licence he was not required to surrender it to the court, but was disqualified from driving for one month, fined $450, and no conviction was recorded.

ALCOHOL

Skipper Tylor Raymond Patton told police he was running late for work when they pulled him over for speeding on September 10, about 8am.

The court heard Patton, a P-plater, was driving on Paluma Rd when police used a mobile radar, which led to an intercept resulting in Patton returning a 0.078 blood alcohol reading.

He said he’d been drinking between 5pm to 9pm the night before and had felt sober enough to drive that morning.

The court heard he’d consumed about five cans of beer and some rum.

Patton pleaded guilty to low-range drink-driving as a P Plater, was fined $450 and disqualified from driving for three months. No conviction was recorded.

Proserpine Courthouse prosecutes traffic and criminal matters on Mondays.

Originally published as LIST: Drink or drug drivers in Proserpine Court