Three drivers were convicted in Orange Local Court on Monday for driving whilst on the drug crystal methylamphetamine - or "ice" as it is colloquially known.
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David Edwards, 29, of west Orange, was stopped by police shortly after 3am on September 15 while driving on Peisley Street for a random test.
When officers asked him to produce his licence, Edwards said he had recently undertaken his learner's test but was yet to receive the paperwork. Edward's passenger held a valid driver's licence, but there were no L-plates on the car.
Further checks revealed that Edwards had never held a licence. A subsequent oral fluid test proved positive to meth.
When he appeared before magistrate David Day on Monday, the passenger of the vehicle on the night of his offending submitted a reference, stating Edwards had been taking her to hospital.
He was convicted for driving without a licence and for doing it on an illicit drug, disqualifying him from applying for his learner's for three months.
Bronwyn Gwyn Jones, 55, of North Orange, also appeared in court on Monday, charged with three counts of driving on crystal meth.
Jones had been stopped by police on three separate occasions last year for the same offence: on September 25, September 30 and December 31, 2020.
On the first occasion, Jones was stopped by police on McLachlan Street for a random roadside test. After testing positive to meth, Jones said she had "taken some cold and flu medication".
Five days later, she was again stopped and again tested positive for meth. On the third occasion, Jones was stopped on the morning of New Year's Eve. She said she had had taken drugs on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
The court heard that since her offending, Jones had successfully completed the MERIT program (Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment) - a voluntary, pre-plea program for adults with issues relating to alcohol and drug use. She had also completely abstained from drugs since April.
She was convicted and disqualified from driving for six months.
Kylie Cotter, 43, of Orchard Grove, was also convicted on Monday for driving on meth, and for possessing it. She did not appear in court.
Police had stopped her on August 28 to check she was complying with Public Health Orders during the lockdown.
According to police, Cotter had "appeared to be nervous" and was "fidgeting, her hands were shaking and her voice was broken at times".
Officers conducted checks and found that she "may be involved in the supply and possession of prohibited drugs".
A search of her car uncovered one gram of meth. Around two weeks later Cotter was stopped in Eugowra for speeding and she tested positive to meth.
She was fined $440 and disqualified from driving for three months.
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