Drink and drug drivers sentenced at Bowen Magistrates Court

From P-platers to repeat offenders, here’s who appeared in court for sentencing this week.

Probationary licence holders James Andrews, left, and Lachlan Alexander Willcox were sentenced for separate drug driving offences at Bowen Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Photos: Facebook.

Here’s the list of the drink and drug drivers who appeared at Bowen Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

1. Thomas John Bradbury pleaded guilty to operating a commercial fishing dory with marijuana in his system on March 20.

The court heard water police conducting patrols on the Coral Sea intercepted Mr Bradbury at 8.15am and conducted a saliva drug test, which returned a positive result.

Bradbury told the court he had used marijuana because he suffered from back pain and had thought it “better to have a smoke than take all these pills”.

He said losing his boat licence would mean losing his job.

Taking this into account, Magistrate Ron Muirhead elected not to disqualify Bradbury’s licence but to impose a $750 fine.

A conviction was recorded.

2. Yalul Albert Morland Laing pleaded guilty to drink-driving on Peter Delamothe Road at Bowen after finishing a night shift at a mine site on April 2.

The court heard Mr Laing drank four Great Northern Original beers at Collinsville, then decided to leave after an argument with his partner.

He returned a positive result in a roadside breath test at 10.55am. A subsequent test returned a reading of 0.065 per cent.

Laing told the court he had “only had a few beers,” and had thought he had spaced them out enough not to be over the limit.

He said the 0.065 reading was likely because he “didn’t eat,” after his shift.

Mr Muirhead imposed a $500 fine, disqualified Laing’s licence for one month, and recorded a conviction.

3. John Jacob Dau pleaded guilty to drink-driving on Linley Street in Bowen on May 1.

The court heard police intercepted Mr Dau at 12.25am and a subsequent breath test returned a reading of 0.115 per cent.

He told police at the time he had consumed “four large wines” before driving to pick his partner up from work because she could not afford a taxi.

Considering Dau’s traffic history, which contained multiple convictions for drink-driving, Mr Muirhead disqualified his licence for eight months and imposed a $1000 fine. A conviction was recorded.

4. James Andrews pleaded guilty to drug-driving on Gregory Street, Bowen on March 23.

The court heard police intercepted the probationary licence holder at 3.15pm and performed a roadside breath test, which returned a positive result.

When no alcohol was detected in a second breath test at Bowen Police Station, police performed a saliva test.

This test returned a positive result, and analysis confirmed the presence of marijuana.

Andrews told police at the time he had “had a joint yesterday afternoon”.

Magistrate Ron Muirhead recorded a conviction, imposed a $500 fine, and disqualified Andrews’ licence for three months.

5. Lachlan Alexander Willcox pleaded guilty to drug-driving on Leichhardt Street, Bowen on March 19.

The court heard Willcox had MDMA and marijuana in his system when police pulled him over at 9pm.

The probationary licence holder tested positive in a roadside saliva test and told police he had used marijuana about four hours prior.

In deciding a sentence, Mr Muirhead took into account Willcox had a previous conviction for the same offence.

He disqualified Willcox’s licence for six months, imposed an $800 fine, and recorded a conviction.

Originally published as Drink and drug drivers sentenced at Bowen Magistrates Court