Not a great start to 2021 for Toowoomba man fined and placed on probation

A sizeable fine and 12 months probation was not quite the welcome to 2021 this Toowoomba man had been looking forward to.

The 31-year-old man was the first person to be sentenced this year by the Toowoomba Magistrates Court.

NOT the best start to 2021 for one Toowoomba man who copped a sizeable fine and was placed on 12 months probation after he became the first person to be sentenced by the city’s Magistrates Court this year.

Brett Colin Sinclair had been pulled over by police while driving on Anzac Ave, Newtown, about 2.50pm, September 18, last year, the court heard.

Not only had he never held a driver’s licence and so was driving unlicensed, but the car he was driving was unregistered and uninsured which brought fines of $320 and $533 respectively, the court heard.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Tim Hutton told the court the 31-year-old had also been found to have six ice pipes for smoking amphetamine at his home during a police search on July 31.

Sinclair pleaded guilty to all charges.

Duty solicitor Brad Skuse, of David Burns Lawyers, told the court the day his client had been driving was actually his birthday and his family had arranged for a celebration at a Toowoomba hotel.

However, after arriving at his sister’s home he found she had been drinking and so he had decided to drive them to the hotel, he said.

Acting Magistrate Roger Stark fined Sinclair a total $1353 and placed him on 12 months probation to include random testing for illicit drugs and disqualified him from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for three months.