One final chance to stay out of jail

HAVING done not one minute of the 240 hours of community service ordered by the court, Toowoomba woman Holly Anne Austin was given one last chance to stay out of jail.

Austin, 25, had been handed the community service order in Toowoomba Magistrates Court last August after pleading guilty to a string of offences including failing to stop on police direction, stealing, fraud and other matters.

Having done no hours, the Department of Probation and Parole recommended the order be revoked and Austin resentenced for those offences.

However, she fronted the same court yesterday on further charges including possessing a glass drug pipe and a small amount of methamphetamine on September 5, last year, failing to appear in court on October 12, and possessing a glass drug pipe on March 17.

Her solicitor Brad Skuse told the court before the community service order was imposed, his client had no previous criminal history at all.

His client had been mixing with the wrong crowd and had drug issues but she had been relatively drug free since October, he said.

Magistrate Graham Lee told Austin it was her “last chance” and placed her on two years probation and fined her $800.