Scone Court Report: July 2017

Magistrate Peter Miszalski presided in the Scone Court this month and is one of two of the longest serving Magistrates in New South Wales, the other being Magistrate Darryl Pearce who was sworn in with Magistrate Miszalski.

Magistrate Miszalski expressed concern at the number of matters which he sees before the court that involve young males and alcohol.

He also lamented the damage that a flock of cockatoos can inflict on houses and fruit trees, an issue that is felt in rural and metropolitan areas.

It was the issue of gun compliance which caused him the most concern, especially in relation to unlicenced and unsecured hand guns, stressing there were heavy penalties for good reason and highlighted the current gun amnesty.

Matter appearing in Scone Court this month included:

ABBOTT, Susan Elizabeth, a 57 year old from Scone as a charge of rider not wear approved bicycle helmet/fitted/fastened. The matter was adjourned for hearing on August 24.

CHILDS, Crystal, a 31 year old from Parkville appeared on a charge of larceny. At 3:39pm on July 1 Ms Childs stole chocolates and cigarette lighters to the value of $18.60 from the BP service station. Ms Childs was convicted and fined $500.

COWLEY, Leighton Scott, a 33 year old from Aberglasslyn appeared on charges of not ride motorbike with at least one hand on handlebars on Kelly Street, Scone on May 6. Use class A vehicle number plate obscured, defaced etc and motor bike rider not wear/secure fit approved helmet.  The matters were adjourned until August 24.

CUNNEEN, Sheree Lisa, a 33 year old from Scone appeared on charges of larceny. Ms Cunneen allegedly stole a bottle of cognac from Coles on April 27 in Scone. On May 4 it is alleged Ms Cunneen stole a can of Dr Pepper softdrink from the Aberdeen Fuel Station valued at $3. The matter was adjourned until September.

CURRY, Graeme Charles, a 53 year old from Bunnan appeared on charges of not ride motor bike with at least one hand on handlebars and drive with middle range prescribed concentration of alcohol, when Mr Curry allegedly returned a reading of 0.149 in Campbelltown on June 14 between 12:10am and 12:30am. There were also charges for drive recklessly, furiously or at speed or manner dangerous and drive motor vehicle not carry licence. On April 15 it is also alleged Mr Curry was driving a motor vehicle with illicit drug present in blood which was methylamphetamine on the New England Highway in Scone between 4.22pm and 5.23pm. The matter was adjourned to Muswellbrook on August 21 for a Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment (MERIT) assessment.

DAVIDSON, Lisa Anne, a 35 year old from Scone appeared and pled guilty to a charge of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm. Ms Davidson was fatigued and crossed onto the wrong side of the road, colliding with another vehicle and causing grievous bodily harm to a woman in the other car. The collision was witnessed by multiple people as there were two people in each car. Ms Davidson’s solicitor explained that Ms Davidson was a life member of the SES in Scone, having joined when she was 15 years of age and had seen many times the consequences of road collisions. Ms Davidson was given a section 9 bond, disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined $2,000.

HALDEN, Jacob Lee, a 41 year old from Muswellbrook appeared to ask for a bail variation, which was granted.

HARRIS, Dallas Gary, a 39 year old from Muswellbrook appeared on charges of drive while licence cancelled on Liverpool Street, Scone on June 3. The matter was adjourned until August 24.

KIRK, Peter David, a 59 year old from Merriwa appeared on charges of break and enter and commit a serious indictable offence-inflict grievous harm. The accused allegedly broke into a house on Bettington Street, Merriwa with three others Alex Kirk, Alex Ashman and Krystal Bowman knowing that there was a person present in the dwelling and inflicted grievous bodily harm on that person. The matter was adjourned to the Newcastle Local Court on September 13.

KITE, Glen, a 41 year old from Scone appeared to appeal a decision by the Roads and Maritime Authority. The matter was adjourned to August 24 after Mr Kite has completed the Traffic Offenders Program.

LAWLER, Matthew Raymond, a 70 year old from Scone pled guilty to not keep firearm safely – not prohibited firearm/pistol, not prevent theft/loss of firearm – not prohibited firearm/pistol and holder of category A or B licence not have approved storage. Mr Lawler had called the police to his property to report the theft of a quad bike and also the theft of a 22 firearm. Mr Lawler said he used to scare cockies away with the firearm, “they come in plague proportions and decimate my trees.” The Magistrate said he is confronted by the same situation, “I have a bush block in the northern part of Sydney and you can see them coming in every afternoon, but they come and attack my place every now and then.” Mr Lawler said he had a particular problem with them attacking his desert ash trees because they were attracted to the berries. The Magistrate commiserated and said he had a problem with them attacking his fruit trees. Mr Lawler was given a good behaviour bond for 10 months and warned not to break the bond.

MCBAIN, Jamie Mark, a 27 year old from Scone presented for hearing for a charge of destroy or damage property for which he pled not guilty. The damage occurred on the evening of December 23 when Mr McBain and two friends went to the Golden Fleece Hotel in Scone and Mr McBain broke 20 or more schooner glasses. The barman Shane Bowman said Mr McBain and his friends arrived at approximately 8:30pm and he served them a round of beers, which they took out into the beer garden. He said Mr McBain then returned to the bar and asked for a round of shots which he would not serve because “I wouldn’t serve anyone shots at that time.” Mr Bowman said Mr McBain then became aggressive and smashed two glasses in the pub before going to the beer garden and sweeping his arm across outdoor tables to knock dozens of beer glasses to the ground and smash. He asked Mr McBain to leave the premises and said he then stood in the car park and began throwing glasses at him and threatening him for approximately 20 minutes. The Magistrate asked, “wouldn’t you call the police in this situation?” Mr Bowman said, “we called the police, but they couldn’t get to us until the next day.” Mr McBain represented himself in the hearing and questioned if Mr Bowman should have served him in the first place since he was intoxicated from being at a Christmas party all day ad had been refused service at the Belmore, before they came to the Golden Fleece. Mr Bowman said they did not appear to be intoxicated when they arrived and he had only served them one drink. Mr McBain asked if there was any closed circuit TV footage to show what happened that night and Mr Bowman said there wasn’t but there were at least 10 witnesses who could say what happened. The Magistrate asked Mr Bowman if he gave the names of the witnesses to the police and he responded, “no, because they never asked me to.” When Mr McBain took the stand he said that he had dropped two glasses inside because he was drunk and later dropped a glass in the beer garden because he was intoxicated, but said he had not smashed dozens of glasses. And said he didn’t think there was a problem because the police had taken two months to visit him about the incident. Mr McBain also disputed that he asked for shots saying the dispute occurred when he dropped the two glasses inside and Mr Bowman asked him to pay $100, to which Mr McBain said, “you’re dreamin’” and decided to leave the hotel of his own accord. Mr McBain admits he was intoxicated but said his recollection of events was sound. The police prosecutor asked how many beers Mr McBain had consumed throughout the day at the RSL and Belmore Hotel, to which he responded it would have been 20 or 30 beers because he was trying to keep up with his mates. The Magistrate said it was “dangerous” and asked if the beers were full strength and Mr McBain said they were mostly XXXX. The Magistrate confirmed with Mr McBain that, “when you were at the Belmore they could see you’d had too much to drink and you said once you got to the next hotel your mind set was hazy and you were drunk.” Mr McBain responded “yes”. The Magistrate then recounted a conversation he’d had with a senior police officer who had been to an incident where the accused was someone who was very intoxicated, “the police officer said he tried to talk to him and tried to reason with him but the accused wouldn’t listen. I asked how long he’d been a police officer and he said some 25 years, so I said, ‘are you telling me after 25 years in the police force you were trying to get a drunk person to be reasonable? And the lights went on for him.” The Magistrate continued and addressed Mr McBain, “so many matters before the court, particularly with young men, alcohol is a significant issue. Wake up Australia needs you!” The Magistrate found the offence proven and he was given a 12 month good behaviour bond.

MCCARTHY, Timothy Martin Sydney, a 27 year old from the Junction pled guilty to a charge of drive vehicle, illicit drug present in blood – second offence to wit methylamphetamine  between 2.40pm and 4.20pm on the New England Highway at Scone on April 17. The Magistrate noted there was a similar offence nearly 12 months prior and that Mr McCarthy was given a section 10 bond on that occasion. Mr McCarthy was convicted, disqualified from driving for six months and fined $500. The Magistrate warned “if you get caught driving while disqualified you’ll go to gaol.”

MCDONALD, Brittanie Lee, an 18 year old from Bellbird pled guilty to a charge of never licensed person drive vehicle on road – first offence. The alleged incident occurred at 1.45am on High Street in Bunnan. The matter was adjourned until August 9 in Cessnock.

MCINTYRE, Jon Campbell, a 51 year old from Southport, Queensland pled guilty to a charge of common assault. The assault occurred on June 23 in 2015 at the Royal Hotel in Merriwa as Mr McIntyre was attempting to remove David Cooper a poker machine mechanic from the Hotel. The Magistrate noted the matter had been hanging over Mr McIntyre’s head for some time. Mr McIntrye had since relocated to Queensland prompting the Magistrate described Merriwa as “a bit sleepy”. The Magistrate also noted nobody had been injured and that a principle in law is that it should not concern itself with trifles. Mr McIntrye was given a section 10.

NEWMAN, Anthony Robert, a 43 year old from Scone presented in custody for a hearing on one count of contravene prohibition/ restriction in AVO. The Magistrate asked, “they don’t have video link to the court yet? It might come one day.” The Magistrate recalled a time when the Attorney General visited a court he presided over and he made mention of the waste of money and police resources being spent to bring people to court in custody, when a video link would be more efficient and a video link was then installed and noted that Mr Newman appearing in custody was “a lot of money being wasted.” The Magistrate noted the long sentence Mr Newman was serving and gave him a section 10 A. “If there was a threat I’d add more to it.” The Magistrate asked Mr Newman if he was doing any courses while in gaol, to which Mr Newman said he was “working in the kitchen and doing a course for domestic violence and alcohol.” The Magistrate urged him to “do something good with yourself and be a decent member of the community.”

PHILP, Nigal Gay, a 38 year old form Bukkulla appeared on charges of possess prohibited drug. The offence occurred on April 19 between 10:20am and 10:25am on the New England Highway in Murrurundi when he was found in possession of 14 grams of cannabis leaf. Mr Philp was a passenger in the vehicle when it was stopped for random breath testing. Mr Philp was given a good behaviour bond for 12 months.

PRINGLE, Damon Grahame, a 44 year old from Scone appeared on charges of give unlawfully obtained goods to person not entitled, the goods being two pairs of leather riding chaps and one pair of farrier chaps which were reasonably suspected of being stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained on March 28 at Muswellbrook. There were also charges of furnish false information or statement to licensee and made a false statement to a licensee required for compliance of the pawnbrokers and second hand dealers act. The matters were adjourned until August 24.

REYNOLDS, Jordan Craig, an 18 year old from Adamstown appeared on charges of drive with middle range prescribed concentration of alcohol with a reading of 0.148 on the Golden Highway at Merriwa between 4pm and 4.10pm on June 16. The matter was adjourned to Belmont on August 9.

SMALL, Kyle Anthony, a 40 year old from Muswellbrook appeared on charges of custody of knife in public place – subsequent offence on Main Street, Scone on May 20 and possess prohibited drug to wit, 3.90 grams of Cannabis. The matter was adjourned to Muswellbrook on July 31.

SMITH, Kenneth Gordon, a 31 year old from Scone appeared on charges of possess unauthorised pistol, possess unregistered firearm – pistol, not keep firearm safely – pistol, holder of category A and B licence not have approved storage and holder of category A and B licence not have approved storage. Mr Smith’s solicitor said Mr Smith was a stallion manager at Yarraman Stud and was a responsible and trust worthy person managing livestock worth millions of dollars for his employer, such as the stallion I Am Invincible which stands for more than $100,000 a service and the stallion could cover up to six mares a day. The Magistrate quipped, “I suppose you couldn’t call it a cash cow could you?” Mr Smith had stored a pistol, for which he didn’t have a licence, in his gun safe which was not appropriately secured. Mr Smith’s solicitor argued that a charge could result in Mr Smith not being able to travel for his career to other countries such as Ireland, Kentucky and Europe. The Magistrate said when he was sitting in the central court there was a matter involving a pistol which resulted in a two year gaol term and said he felt this was the starting point and noting a maximum sentence of 14 years. “He spent $3000 on a 9mm ‘spanner’ and got upset that nobody would gold plate it for him and I asked, ‘why not go to Bunnings and get one for $10’? So you see why I didn’t accept his explanation. We are also looking at another matter this week where there was a robbery at the property where a quad bike was stolen and a firearm and it was not that long ago in Parramatta where someone was gunned down with a pistol as I understand it, so that is a problem.” Mr Smith’s solicitor argued that this was a very different matter to the case the Magistrate described in the central court, “it was clearly for some other reason entirely and this was not a situation like that.” The Magistrate said, “in the scheme of things an offence of this nature, the court really has to send a message to the community that if you have a pistol you have to have a reason for it and if you don’t there is only one message that can be sent to the community.” The Magistrate also noted there was a gun amnesty at the moment “for any weapons out there”. “Huge penalties are there for a reason and where I sit house are being shot at and the fact that you could actually get a pistol from someone for $500 is a bit disturbing. You are a person who is otherwise upstanding and has significant potential, but I can’t do anything but convict you.” Mr Smith’s solicitor noted Mr Smith had cooperated with police and assisted them in providing information with who gave him the pistol. The Magistrate then imposed a fine of $2,000. Mr Smith appealed the decision.

STEPHENS, Tarnya, a 25 year old from Merriwa failed to appear on charges of stalk/intimidate intend fear physical harm, common assault and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

STEWARD, Katherine Mary, a 46 year old from Gungal failed to appear on charges of aid and abet an assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault at Merriwa on September 10. She was convicted and fined $1000.

THOMAS, Kevin James, a 57 year old from Aberdeen pled guilty to charges of drive with prescribed concentration of alcohol and possess illicit drug. Mr Thomas had returned a reading of 0.140 on October 1 in Aberdeen and was also in possession of 20 grams of cannabis. The Magistrate noted, “he’s a bit old for pot isn’t he? I mean let’s get real.” He was disqualified from driving for six months and fined $600. (Please note: This post initially incorrectly stated that Mr Thomas also had charges of  assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault. This was a clerical error by scone.com.au where information from the previous listing for Ms Katherine Steward’s matter was listed as Mr Thomas).

VAN HEES, Jessy, a 26 year old from Aberdeen appeared on charges of drive with high range prescribed concentration of alcohol, after returning a reading of 0.162 on Kelly Street, Scone at 12:34am on June 3. Mr Van Hees had been celebrating a work anniversary of 10 years with colleagues and had arranged for a friend to drive him but those plans had not panned out. The Magistrate noted that in the role of coroner he has seen how quickly things can go wrong. “If you are caught driving during the period of disqualification you could go to gaol.” Mr Van Hees was sentenced to 6 months disqualification followed by 24 months of interlock.

WHITE, Zeph, a 22 year old from Chittaway Bay appeared on charges of drive vehicle with illicit drug present in blood-first offence to wit delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol and delta-9-THC acid on the New England Highway in Scone on December 2 last year. The matter was adjourned until August 24.

WINTER, Peter Grahame, a 60 year old from Scone appeared on charges of possess prohibited drug, supply prohibited drug >indictable quantity and drive illicit drug present in blood. Mr Winter is alleged to have had 8.22 grams of methylaphetamine in his possession on April 5, 2017 in Scone. Mr Winter is alleged to ahvesuppliedmethylamphetamine and breached bail on May 18. Mr Winter was further alleged to have had methylamphetamine delta -9-tetrahydrocannibinol between 2.20am and 3.10am on Park Street, Scone on March 4. The matters were adjourned to Muswellbrook on August 21.

Read: Previous Court Reports.