NY revelry a hard cell 43-y-o woman swaps New Year’s Eve for night in the watch house

THE Toowoomba watch house wasn’t quite the venue Tammy Carol Shepherd had in mind to ring in the New Year.

Nor could a night in a cell beneath the Toowoomba Police Station be considered an ideal start to 2019.

However, that is where the 43-year-old Pimpama resident spent New Year’s Eve and morning after being arrested on an outstanding warrant by police on Monday.

Police prosecutor Rowan Brewster-Webb told Toowoomba Magistrates Court that Shepherd had failed to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on December 6 and a warrant for her arrest had been issued.

She told police who found her in Jondaryan that she had failed to front court that day because she was assisting police with inquiries into another matter, the court heard.

Having spent the night in custody, Shepherd appeared in court to plead guilty to the fail to appear charge.

Duty lawyer Shane MacDonald told the court his client was on charges of common assault, obstruct/assault police and making threats arising from alleged incidents in Brisbane and Surfers Paradise which she was contesting.

However, she accepted she had failed to appear in court as directed and pleaded guilty to that charge, he said.

Taking into account she had spent the night in custody, a small fine would be appropriate on that charge, Mr MacDonald submitted.

Acting Magistrate Roger Stark agreed and fined Shepherd $200.

Mr Stark adjourned her original charges for mention in Brisbane Magistrates Court on January 22 and Southport Magistrates Court on February 5.