Scone Court Report: July 2016

MAGISTRATE Lisa Stapleton presided in court this month and expressed her concern at the level of crime related to alcohol in the community.

Pointing to a pile of more than 40 matters for the day she said, “almost every single one will be about alcohol whether it is drinking driving or domestic violence, it is a big problem in our society.”

Magistrate Stapleton shook her head in dismay at a local man who was educating young football players on not drinking and drive, yet was in court for committing the offence.

She highlighted the number of people who are held up as role models in our community that drink and drive, “can I tell you how many school captains and captains of the rugby team drink and drive? I am not surprised any more, but I am always shocked.”

Drink driving with passengers in the car she consistently referenced as an offence, “of greater moral culpability.”

Appearing in Scone court this month were the following matters:

ANDERSON, Robert John v DAVIS, Gary, was a civil case relating case to repayment of a $3,000 loan by Mr Davis to Mr Anderson. Magistrate Stapleton proposed mediation occur “before it becomes a real argument in front of a Magistrate”. Both parties agreed to mediation and the matter was adjourned until August 18.

BACHEN, David John, a 29 year old from Gulgong pled guilty to a charge of drive with low range prescribed concentration of alcohol. The offence occurred on the Golden Highway in Merriwa at 11:20am on June 12. Mr Bachen returned a reading of 0.059. The Magistrate noted there was a like offence in 2009, directed Mr Bachen to complete the traffic offenders program and adjourned the matter for sentencing on October 20.

BATES, Joel Ernest, from Scone pled guilty to a charge of special category driver drive with special range prescribed concentration of alcohol. In his police statement Mr Bates said he had consumed 8 to 10 drinks the night before, at an 18^th birthday party. He had his first drink at 5pm and the last at midnight. The next day at 8:45am Mr Bates was driving to the supermarket and was stopped for random breath testing on the Golden Highway at Merriwa. He returned a reading of 0.040. The Magistrate noted he had completed the traffic offenders program. Mr Bates was convicted and disqualified him from driving for three months.

BERGQUIST, Brodye Jaye, a 19 year old from Murrurundi pled guilty to a charge of drive with middle range prescribed concentration of alcohol. Ms Bergquist was stopped for random breath on June 25 at 4:40am at Wilson Memorial Oval at Murrurundi and returned a reading of 0.117. The Magistrate noted Ms Bergquist had consumed three mix drinks of Jim Beam and Coca Cola between 10pm and 3am and had someone else in the car which makes the offence “one of greater moral culpability,” Ms Berquist was directed to complete the traffic offenders program and adjourned sentencing until October 20. The Magistrate further cautioned that the maximum sentence was 9 months gaol, a $2,200 fine and 12 months disqualification from driving.

BLOOMFIELD, Todd, a 35 year old from West Tamworth had charges of possess prohibited drug and one count of receive/dispose of stolen property less than $5000. Mr Bloomfield is alleged to have been in possession of 4.9 grams of cannabis in Scone on May 22 at 2:35pm. The matters were adjourned to Tamworth on August 1.

BROWN, Christian, a 28 year old from Scone had a charge of possess of use prohibited weapon without permit in Merriwa on June 18. Mr Brown was found guilty, in his absence, of purchasing a baton on eBay which was prohibited. He was fined $500 and the Magistrate ordered the weapon to be destroyed.

CALLINAN, Jane, a 48 year old from Scone did not appear in court to appeal a decision by the Roads and Maritime Services to suspend her driver’s licence, due to losing too many demerit points and sought an adjournment to Muswellbrook court. The matter was adjourned to Muswellbrook on August 15.

CARTER, Alex David, a 30 year old from Toronto had a charge of breaching bond in relation to malicious damage. The matter was adjourned until August 18.

CHILDS, Crystal, a 30 year old from Muswellbrook was in custody and was scheduled to appear for hearing on a charge of unlawfully obtain goods and there were three outstanding warrants. The offence is alleged to have taken place on March 19 in Muswellbrook at approximately 11am, when Ms Childs was found in possession of a Samsung mobile phone suspected stolen. It was determined Ms Childs was unfit to present in court and the Magistrate also noted the dock was particularly insecure. Ms Childs was to be taken to Maitland hospital and the matters were adjourned for hearing in Maitland on July 25.

COLLISON, John Robert William, a 58 year old from Scone presented on a charge of drive with low range prescribed concentration of alcohol. Mr Collison returned a reading of 0.064 during random breath testing at Hill Street, Scone at approximately 12:30am. Magistrate Stapleton noted it was Mr Collison’s second offence, with the prior offence being in 2013 in Queensland. Mr Collison was convicted, disqualified from driving for 1 month and ordered to have his vehicle fitted with an interlock device for 12 months.

CUMMINGS, Zac, a 27 year old from Scone presented in custody for hearing on two charges of goods suspected stolen in/on premises, relating to the possession of vehicle registration plates in Scone on March 26. Mr Cummings’ solicitor said his mother had breast cancer and was living in the Port Stephen’s area and Mr Cummings was keen to help care for his mother and relocate to the Port Stephen’s area when released on parole, which he is eligible for in November. The Magistrate gave Mr Cummings a three month sentence to be served as of today, which would mean he would still be eligible for parole on the same date in November.

DEVER, Corrina Lee, a 38 year old from Scone had pled guilty to one charge common assault and another charge of behave in offensive manner in public passenger vehicle. The Magistrate noted a medical treatment plan was in place and the matters were discharged by the court.

FENSOM, Samuel David John, a 21 year old from Griffith presented on a charge of drive/tow vehicle with unsecured load, relating to 3 swags and some small luggage bags on April 3, on the New England Highway at Parkville. The matter was adjourned to Griffith on September 9.

GILL, Joel Michael, a 35 year old from Scone presented on charges including destroy or damage property and common assault. The alleged damage of property was numerous crockery, glassware, household items and a glass sliding door in Merriwa on February 21 and the alleged assault also occurred in Merriwa on the same date. Mr Gill pled not guilty to the allegations and the matter was adjourned until October 21.

GILMORE, Simon James, a 24 year old from Scone pled guilty to a charge of drive with middle range prescribed concentration of alcohol. Mr Gilmore had been brought to the attention of police at 10:50pm on April 1 at Kelly Street, Scone when he pulled out of a driveway with the door open and proceeded to swerve on the road. He was breath tested and returned a reading of 0.128. The Magistrate noted Mr Gilmore had taken steps to rehabilitate, fined him $500 and disqualified him from driving for 6 months.

GODDARD, Raymond James, a 35 year old from Scone from presented for hearing on for charges including destroy or damage property, two counts of common assault and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The offence for destroy property allegedly occurred on March 29 in Scone between 10am and 4:11pm in relation to a colour bond fence panel which was the property of Compass Housing and the offences of assault are also alleged to have occurred on the same day. The matters of destroy or damage property and two counts of common assault were adjourned until November 25. The matter of assault occasioning actual bodily harm was adjourned to Muswellbrook on August 1

GREEN, John, a 44 year old from Merriwa presented in custody on a charge of dishonestly obtaining $8,152.86, in relation to defrauding his niece of money from her mother’s will. Magistrate Stapleton said Mr Green’s behaviour was shocking and directed Mr Green to pay back the money to his niece before he reappears before the court, “he’ll have to source the money, borrow money from the bank, sell his car or get a loan from someone.” The Magistrate granted Mr Green bail so he could, “get about the business of paying his niece back” but instructed him to report to the Merriwa police station every Saturday. Mr Green was in custody because he had failed to appear in Penrith court in July and a warrant had been issued for his arrest. He was directed to obtain a presentence report and the matter was adjourned until September 22.

HALL, Tony Wayne, a 34 year old from Aberdeen pled guilty to a charge of drive motor vehicle during disqualification period and driver or rider in state false name or home address. The Magistrate formed the view Mr Hall had impaired judgement, was given a good behaviour bond of 2 years.

HAND, John L, an 84 year old from Moonbi failed to appear on a charge of exceed speed by more than 10 kilometres an hour, the offence being travelling at 87 kilometres in a 70 zone at Blandford on the New England Highway on February 25. Mr Hand was convicted in his absence and fined $350.

HODGES, Adam John, a 55 year old from Merriwa pled not guilty to a charge of exceed speed by 10 kilometres an hour. The matter was adjourned until August 19.

KISI, Elizabeth Laura, a 48 year old from Bunnan pled not guilty to two charges of common assault. The matter was adjourned until September 23.

MACDONALD, Christopher Edward, a 59 year old from Scone pled guilty to a charge of receive financial advantage from Commonwealth entity. Mr MacDonald owes Centrelink Newcastle $17,156 and has made $2,110 in repayments to date. The Magistrate ordered a presentence report and adjourned the matter until September 22 for sentencing.

NEALE, Phillip Michael, a 67 year old from Bunnan pled guilty to a charge of drive with middle range prescribed concentration of alcohol. The offence occurred at 9:10pm on June 12 at Bow Street Merriwa, when Mr Neale returned a reading of 0.085. The Magistrate expressed her disappointment in Mr Neale pointing out a man of his age and standing should know better. He was disqualified from driving for six months, fined $500 and given a good behaviour bond for six months.

NORTON, Bradley Wayne, a 38 year old from Scone presented for hearing on charges including use offensive language in/near public place/school, fail/refuse to disclose identity on request, resist or hinder police officer in the line of duty and assault officer in execution. Mr Norton initially pled not guilty to all charges, but changed his plea to guilty on use of offensive language in a public place during the hearing. The offences occurred on May 13, the same day as the Scone Cup. The police were patrolling Kelly Street when police heard Mr Norton say, “F#@* you Sergeant Barry you’re f#**ed!” As Mr Norton yelled this he was also seen to raise his arms with both middle fingers extended. The police later found Mr Norton and his friend Michael Baker out the front of the Scone railway station walking in a northern direction. Senior Constable Power approached Mr Norton who continued to use offensive language and when Mr Norton pushed officer Power in the chest he was placed under arrest. There was a struggle to place Mr Norton in handcuffs which ended up on the ground with police wrestling Mr Norton for what was estimated to be four or five minutes. During the arrest officer Barry was struck in the head with an open hand by Mr Norton. The Magistrate described the accounts of the event by Mr Norton and Mr Baker as diametrically opposed to the accounts of the two police officers. She said the first thing that struck her was that the officers were sober and the evidence given by Baker and Norton was impaired because they had been drinking all afternoon. In terms of assessing the reliability of the witnesses she did not see Mr Baker as a reliable witness and questioned if he was sober while in the witness box. Magistrate Stapleton said the behaviour of Mr Norton on May 13 appeared to been out of character, since he seems responsible holding down a job and was a single parent to two children. She said the impact of alcohol was an enormous burden on the community pointing out the resourcing which had been spent on Mr Norton’s matter alone in police and court time, “because you had eight schooners.” The Magistrate fined Mr Norton $150 for offensive language, $110 refuse to disclose identity and gave him a section 9 good behaviour bond for 12 months. She also ordered Mr Norton to attend a program for alcohol rehabilitation.

O’BRIEN, Jeremy, a 27 year old from Aberdeen presented on a charge of drive with middle range prescribed concentration of alcohol and unlicenced for class, class C, R, LR or MR. Mr O’Brien had returned a reading of 0.128 at 2:20pm on March 26 in Aberdeen. Mr O’Brien was disqualified from driving for 6 months and given a good behaviour bond of 12 months.

PORTEUS, Luke Anthony, a 43 year old from Suffolk Park entered a written plea of guilty to a charge of possess prohibited drug. Mr Porteus was found in possession of 6.5 grams of cannabis on June 18 at Cassilis. He was fined $500 fine and the drugs are to be destroyed.

RAWLINSON, Darryl John, a 40 year old from Scone entered a written plea of guilty on charges of licence expired less than 2 years before – prior offence, class A vehicle displaying unauthorised number plate and use unregistered registrable class A motor vehicle on the road. The offence occurred at 4:15pm on June 28 in Scone. Mr Rawlinson was charged $500 for each offence.

REICHEL, Ian Geoffrey, a 24 year old from Scone pled guilty to a charge of drive vehicle illicit drug present in blood. Mr Reichel was stopped for random breath testing at 8:10pm on November 20 in Willow Tree and returned a positive reading for methylamphetamine and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Mr Reichel was directed to obtain a certificate from an alcohol and other drugs counsellor and the matter was adjourned until October 20.

ROBINSON, Blake Mark, a 25 year old from Aberdeen had a charge of driver never licenced. The offence is alleged to have occurred at 10:04pm on June 11 on the New England Highway at Scone. The matter was adjourned until August 18.

ROSS, Rebecca Anne, a 43 year old from Muswellbrook had charges of possess prohibited drug and possession of equipment for administrating prohibited drugs. The offence occurred in Merriwa on June 19 at 6:05am. The drug was 0.8 grams of methyl amphetamine and the administrating equipment was a glass pipe. Ms Ross was convicted in her absence and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

ROWLANDS, Ashley James, a 22 year old from Scone pled guilty to a charge of drive with middle range prescribed concentration of alcohol. Mr Rowlands returned a reading of 0.111 at 1am on July 2 in Liverpool Street, Scone. The Magistrate said there was a maximum penalty of 9 months gaol and a fine of $2,000 and suggested Mr Rowlands could earn some leniency by completing the traffic offenders program, which he agreed to do. Magistrate Stapleton expressed her concern that there was no MERIT assessment program for the Scone court. She said she was concerned Mr Rowlands was using cannabis and asked him to consult with his GP and seek referral to a drug counsellor before returning for sentencing. The matter was adjourned until October 20.

SMALL, Kyle Anthony, a 39 year old from Muswellbrook appeared in custody on a charge of custody of a knife in public place and possess prohibited drug. He was sentenced to a 12 month good behaviour bond for each offence.

SMITH, Paul David, a 41 year old from Nerang, Queensland entered a written plea of not guilty to a charge of dishonestly possess interfere with unique identifier, alleged to have occurred on May 29 at Scone. The matter was adjourned until September 22.

TAYLOR, Kristane Louise, a 20 year old from Aberdeen had previously pled guilty to a charge of drive with low range prescribed concentration of alcohol, which occurred on April 16 at approximately 1am in Aberdeen. Ms Taylor returned a reading of 0.061.The Magistrate noted Ms Taylor drove through a give-way sign and asked “isn’t she on her L’s and didn’t she have to press the button to say nil blood alcohol content as part of the exam?” The Magistrate said Ms Taylor had been reckless not to respect that. She further noted the supervising driver was also intoxicated and booked. “Just because your friend had died it is no reason to go drinking all around the town and then drive,” said Magistrate Stapleton. The Magistrate further noted Ms Taylor came to the attention of police who had followed her with warning devices on and she claimed not to have noticed them, “surely any person who was sober would have noticed.” Ms Taylor was fined $500 and disqualified from driving for 3 months.

THOMAS, Sean v BROWN, Wayne appeared in a civil matter regarding a dispute for horse training fees of $7,500. The Magistrate said it did not make sense that a man employed would bear the costs of training on the probability of a win and earning 10 percent of the winnings, “I am quite satisfied that was not the case.” The Magistrate awarded Mr Thomas the full sum in dispute and also interest.

THURSTON, Robert James, a 57 year old from Breeza entered a plea of guilty to a charge of fail to comply with dimension requirements – severe risk. The  matter was adjourned to Walgett on September 7.

VAN STEENIS, Darryll Scott, a 28 year old from Uralla presented on a charge of resident 3 months not obtain NSW licence. He was convicted in his absence and fined $800.

WALKER, Justin Adam, a 40 year old from New Lambton failed to appear in court for a charge of possess prohibited drug and was convicted in his absence. The offence occurred at Merriwa on April 23 at 2:30pm, when Mr Walker was stopped by police for random breath testing police observed him to be acting nervously and found 1.2 grams of cannabis leaf in a bag, in Mr Walker’s pants. The Magistrate said she did not accept a medical certificate stating Mr Walker was unfit to attend work, “it’s not work it is appearing in court.” Mr Walker was convicted in his absence, fined $500 and the drugs to be destroyed.

WILLEMSMEN, Angie, a 36 year old from Suffolk Park entered a written plea of guilty on a charge of possess/attempt to, prescribed restricted substance. The alleged offence occurred at approximately 11:10pm at Cassilis on June 18, with the drug being 3 tablets of Valium. The matter was adjourned to Byron Bay on August 4.

WILSON, Nathan Charles, a 38 year old from Denistone was on a charge of drive in right lane where speed limit over 80 kilometres an hour. Mr Wilson entered a plea of not guilty to the alleged offence which occurred on the New England Highway at Aberdeen on April 3 at 9:48 pm. The matter was adjourned until Frida, September 23.

WINTER, Peter Grahame, a 59 year old from Scone pled guilty to a charge of drive motor vehicle while licence suspended. The Magistrate noted Mr Winter had lost his licence due to exceeding demerit points and was found driving on June 6 in Scone. He was fined $500 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

YOUNG, Earl, a 45 year old from Adamstown Heights presented on charges of variation application notice after breach and possess prohibited drug. He entered a written plea of guilty for possession of 0.6 grams of methylamphetamine at approximately 6am on June 19 in Merriwa and the matter was adjourned for sentencing to Maitland on August 11. On the second offence the Magistrate continued bail.

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