Weekend revellers warned to behave or risk spending New Year’s Eve in custody

With no court sitting to hear bail applications until Monday, those put in the watch-house from Saturday risk missing New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Weekend revellers have been warned to behave or be at risk of seeing in the New Year from the watch house.

Anyone arrested from Saturday and refused watch house bail will have to wait until New Year’s Day on Monday before the Toowoomba Magistrates Court sits to hear their bail application.

Despite the court being officially closed for the Christmas/New Year break and not reopening until Monday, January 8, the court has “welcomed” up to 30 people this week who have found themselves in the watch-house after being arrested on a range of matters, mainly relating to domestic violence order breaches.

Toowoomba watch house

Those people included a 14-year-old boy charged with breaking into a house and stealing car keys allegedly used to drive away in the homeowner’s car which he then crashed into another vehicle, police claimed.

The boy was refused bail and remanded in custody to appear in the Toowoomba Children’s Court on January 11.

The Toowoomba Magistrates Court has been at the centre of bail applications this week with magistrate Kay Ryan deciding on bail for defendants appearing in person in Toowoomba or via video link to courts from Ipswich west to Roma and Charleville.

Ipswich recorded similar numbers in its watch house to Toowoomba with some appearances from Warwick, Dalby, Roma and Charleville.

The Toowoomba Magistrates Court is expected to hear bail applications from those in the respective watch houses again Saturday morning but anyone arrested after that who doesn’t obtain watch house bail will have to see in the New Year from the cells until the court sits again on Monday morning.