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A Mudgee woman who failed to appear in Mudgee Local Court to face charges of drug driving and possession of drug equipment, was convicted in her absence, fined a total of $990 and disqualified for six months.
Tiffany Louise Teale of Winbourne Street, was charged with 'Drive vehicle illicit drug present in blood etc' following random drug testing at 7pm on March 13, 2020.
According to the police facts tendered for sentence, the roadside oral fluid test conducted in Church Street, Mudgee, was positive to methamphetamine and Teale was arrested and taken to Mudgee Police Station.
Her second sample was positive to methamphetamine and cannabis, which was confirmed following laboratory analysis. The 33-year-old told officers that she'd smoked the two drugs at lunchtime that day.
The charge was listed as a second or subsequent offence for the last five years, with the defendant previously convicted of drug driving in August 2018.
Teale had also been charged with 'Possession of equipment for administering prohibited drugs', after she was stopped by police at 12.10am on July 14, 2020.
More crime and court:
In the police facts tendered for sentence, officers were travelling along Tallawang Road, Gulgong, towards Caledonian Street, when they spotted her vehicle, which they caught up with and stopped.
When asked where she was going, Teale said she was driving the passengers to Mudgee. Police pointed out that she was going in the opposite direction of Mudgee and Teale replied, "oh yeah we are going the long way".
The suspicious explanation, along with checks that revealed one of the passengers was breaching their bail, led to officers arresting those in the vehicle. During which Teale handed over a glass pipe used to smoke methamphetamine.
In Mudgee Local Court last Wednesday, Magistrate David Day said the defendant had contacted the court and was seeking an adjournment because she claimed she was "stuck in Tweed Heads looking for accommodation".
Furthermore, it was noted Teale failed to appear when the matters were first listed on August 19, on that occasion she claimed to be "unwell".
"She said she can't make it back, I have my doubts, her excuse is not accepted," Magistrate Day said before proceeding to sentence Teale in her absence.