Disqualified driver blew .15

Doing a runner on police didn’t help

REALISING he was driving well above the legal alcohol limit and that his driver’s licence was disqualified, it was probably no surprise that Shane Leslie Duck did a runner on police who approached his car on Ruthven St.

Police conducting random breath testing of drivers near the Shamrock Hotel about 10.40pm, September 28, spotted a car stop and the driver and passenger run from the vehicle, Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard.

Giving chase, the passenger was soon caught by police while Duck, 28, scaled the barbed wire fence of the nearby Water Skiers Warehouse in Neil St, police prosecutor Rowan Brewster-Webb said.

A security guard was called who opened the gate to the warehouse and Duck was found hiding in the yard, the court heard.

A police search of the pair’s car found 3.7g of “green leafy material” which Duck admitted was marijuana and police checks of his driver’s licence found it had been disqualified by the Beaudesert Magistrates Court for two years in September last year, Mr BrewsterWebb said.

While results of a blood test taken at Toowoomba Hospital that night had not yet been obtained, Duck pleaded guilty on the basis his alcohol level was 0.15, the court heard.

The Cedar Creek resident pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of liquor, driving while disqualified by a court, possessing a dangerous drug, trespassing and obstructing police.

The court heard Duck had been in the Toowoomba area at the time working and he had gone out with a work colleague for drinks.

While they initially had no intention of driving, he had made the choice to drive the 100m or so to the motel where they were staying, the court heard.

Magistrate Robbie Davies said the offending was serious in that driving while disqualified was contempt of court orders.

Mr Davies sentenced Duck to three months in jail but suspended the whole term forthwith to hang over his head for 18 months.

Duck was disqualified from driving for 30 months.