Drunk told toe the wine

A RECOVERING alcoholic stole a car at knifepoint after a bender that started with a sip of wine at a church Holy Communion, a court has been told.

Adam Alfred Taylor, 32, will be eligible for parole in seven months after being sentenced in the Southport District Court yesterday to two-and-a-half years jail. He was charged with unlawful entry of a vehicle whilst armed and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

The court was told Taylor had a history of alcohol and drug abuse when he got the taste for wine at church on June 18.

Barrister Sarah Thompson said her client continued drinking before confronting his ex-partner’s family later that night over access to his young daughter.

“It seems that his ex-partner cancelled the contact (with his daughter),” she said.

When his friends refused to give Taylor the keys to his car at an Indian restaurant at Upper Coomera, he was alleged to have produced a 37cm knife and threatened a woman and her partner. He demanded the woman hand over the keys to her Holden.

She eventually relented, removing her dog and handbag from the car first. Taylor drove away at speed.

Ms Thompson said her client was jailed in 2008 for an attempted armed robbery. Taylor spent considerable time and money to conquer his drug addiction, she added. The court was told Taylor had worked in a kitchen and had been promised by his employer that he would be rehired once released from prison.

Ms Thompson said Taylor suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after a stint behind bars.

Judge Catherine McGinness said Taylor’s alcoholism was no excuse for his behaviour.

Outside court, Taylor’s lawyer Michael Gatenby said his client had made numerous attempts to address his alcohol addiction.

“He’s got to be one of the more apologetic carjackers that I’ve acted for in a long period of time,” Mr Gatenby said.

“His only prospect of sorting himself out is to get out of jail and go and do rehab.”