Warren John Rodis, 39, of Taralye Place, represented himself in Orange Local Court on Monday, May 15, faced charges of resisting or hindering police, using offensive language in public, refusing to comply with a direction and failing to leave a licensed premises.

Rodis accepted that he had a problem with alcohol that led to the offences and said he had been sober for four weeks prior to his court attendance.

The charges related to his behaviour on December 22, 2016, when he was told to leave a hotel in Summer Street due to intoxication.

According to police facts, about 8.50pm, Rodis ordered a meal at the bistro, however staff thought he was drunk and refunded his money and told him the leave the hotel due to his intoxication.

He refused to leave and police were called and led him outside where he started swearing about not being allowed to get a meal and refused to leave the area so was arrested and taken home.

Rodis told acting magistrate Bruce Williams that he was having after work drinks with colleagues and had not eaten lunch or dinner and the trouble started when he was told the meal he had ordered was no longer available.

“There’s a contributing factor that I’d like to make, due to the fact the I worked until 2.30pm that day and didn’t have lunch, I worked right through,” Rodis said.

He said he and his colleagues started drinking at a pub but went to another hotel.

“I ordered a drink and I ordered a meal and I waited 20 minutes and they told me the meal was no longer available,” Rodis said.

“I addressed the fact that I have a problem with alcohol, I’ve been four weeks sober.”   

Mr Williams placed Rodis on a 12-month good behaviour bond for resisting police and fined him $400 for using offensive language, $300 for refusing to comply with a direction and $300 for failing to leave the hotel.

“There is an element that you are still making excuses,” Mr Williams said.

“[The hotel] has an obligation not to have intoxicated people in the hotel and the whole issue was that you have a problem with alcohol.

“Having said that, you having had no alcohol [recently] is a good thing.”

However, Mr Williams recommended that Rodis also pursue other strategies to ensure he continues to remain sober.