Severe penalty for drug driver

A YOUNG father of two will be without his licence for more than two years after facing court for multiple driving and drug offences.

Joshua Paul Townsend appeared in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to 14 charges, including drug driving, driving without a licence, driving while uninsured and unregistered with plates from another vehicle.

The 23-year-old also pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of possessing and producing dangerous drugs, obstruct police, trespass, possessing tainted and enter dwelling to commit and indictable offence.

The court was told that on January 3, 2021, police were at an intersection in Toowoomba when Townsend’s vehicle was spotted.

Police prosecutor Anita Page said police checks found the front and rear plates that were attached belonged to a separate vehicle and that it was unregistered and uninsured. The court was told cannabis was also detected by a roadside drug test.

About a month later on February 18, Townsend was again stopped by police, and despite claiming he was told by police he could drive after 24 hours, Ms Page said bodyworn footage revealed he had been told he couldn’t drive until his next court appearance. A roadside drug test again returned a reading for cannabis.

The court was told on March 25 last year police conducted a raid on Townsend’s Stuart Street address where a 140cm cannabis plant and 18.75g of cannabis were found, as well as street and traffic control signs that police suspected were stolen.

Townsend’s solicitor Claire Graham told the court her client was a father of two children, and while he had struggled with a heavy methylamphetamine addiction for six years had been clean of the drug for 13 months.

Magistrate Kay Ryan convicted Townsend and sentenced him to 18 months probation. He was disqualified from holding a driver’s licence for two years and three months.