Drink driver demanded police take mate home

A DRUNKEN night out on a day off is still having ramifications for a Toowoomba man.

Station hand John Lawrence Higgins had been enjoying a night out with a mate in Camooweal, near Mt Isa, because he didn’t have to work the next day, Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard.

However, the night ended less than well when the 25year-old was pulled over by police driving his mate home about 9.50pm.

Admitting he had enjoyed a beer earlier in the evening, Higgins blew a breath/alcohol reading of 0.194, police prosecutor Catherine Nielsen told the court.

He had then become agitated with police officers who he demanded drive his mate home.

Told by police that they would drive both of them home once the paperwork was done, Higgins had grabbed one officer by the collar and a struggle ensued which ended in Higgins being handcuffed.

Released on bail the next day, he had subsequently failed to front the court on October 31 but was picked up in Toowoomba on a warrant on November 6, Senior Constable Nielsen said.

Higgins pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of liquor, assaulting and obstructing police and failing to appear in court.

His solicitor Joe McConnell, of MacDonald Law, told the court his client had been a station hand since leaving high school and had been working at Camooweal at the time.

However, due to this incident he had lost that job and hadn’t worked since.

His client had also been without his driver’s licence since that night five months ago, Mr McConnell said.

Without recording convictions, Magistrate Lisa O’Neill fined Higgins $850.

The magistrate also disqualified him from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for six months.