Man at pub in breach of bail

TOOWOOMBA man Benjamin Richard Hudd was breaching bail in a number of ways when he called police for a favour and got himself locked up for the night.

Hudd had been released from the Toowoomba Police Station watch house on Friday with bail conditions which required him to live at a certain address in Oakey, abide by a 10pm to 6am curfew and be under the 0.08 breath/alcohol limit.

So, when he rang police at 1am Saturday from the National Hotel in Toowoomba asking cops to bring his medication that he’d left at the watch house to the Russell Street pub, he should have known where he would end up.

Police duly arrived at the hotel and took Hudd into custody for breaching his bail conditions and he spent the night back in the watch house where he was reunited with his medication.

Breath tested at the watch house, the 38-year-old blew a breath/alcohol reading of 0.134, well above the permitted 0.08, Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard on Saturday.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Tim Hutton told the court Hudd told police he couldn’t be in Oakey as all his mates would be drinking and that he was an alcoholic and would be drinking too.

Having spent the night in custody, Judd appeared via video link from the watch house to plead guilty before the court Saturday morning to breaching his bail conditions.

Duty solicitor Matt Gemmell, of Bouchier Khan Lawyers, told the court his client struggled with alcoholism and had completed a detox program to dry out.

However, after the events of Friday night he intended doing another detox program, he said.

Magistrate Kay Ryan sentenced Hudd to a probation order so he could be supervised and get help for his drinking issues while in the community.