A man who drove away from an argument to avoid it escalating, pleaded guilty in Orange Local Court on Monday to mid-range drink driving.
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Peter Thomas Rooks, 48 of Samuel Close, was fined $1100 and disqualified from driving for six months back-dated to October.
Rooks appeared in court where he was represented by solicitor Mick Madden.
Police caught him driving on Rudd Road, Canowindra, at 7.10am on Sunday, October 23, where he returned a mid-range blood alcohol reading of 0.110.
According to a police report, he said he’d been drinking when they asked him.
“Yeah I have, I will be high range I reckon,” he was quoted as saying.
Mr Madden said his client was involved in an argument but made the wrong decision to get away to stop it escalating and drove when he should have walked.
He also said Rooks worked out of town and had been without a licence since October and learnt how important having a licence is for getting to and from work as well as for his family.
Magistrate Terry Lucas pointed out that although it was his first conviction, it was the second time Rooks had been before the court for drink driving.
He back-dated the six month driving disqualification to October.
Positive to drugs
Michelle Meredith Edwards, 39, of Lone Pine Avenue was fined $700 and disqualified from driving for three months in Orange Local Court on Monday.
Edwards was penalised after testing positive to cannabis at a road-side drug test at 8.50am on September 1, 2016.
Further analysis also detected methamphetamine.
Edwards was pulled over by police on Lone Pine Avenue for a Random Breath Test and drug test.
According to a report, police questioned her about the drugs and she said “I had a couple last night.”
Edwards represented herself in court and questioned by police said she didn’t normally take drugs and the last time she had methamphetamine was at the time of her arrest for the driving charge.
Drug driving
Robert Thomas Brennan was fined $1000 and disqualified from drink driving for six months after testing positive to methamphetamine and cannabis at a road-side drug test.
The 22-year-old from Yvonne Crescent was pulled over by police at 6.10pm on November 26, 2016 in Spring Street.
