A Gulgong woman with a history of "flouting" the law has been sentenced to jail time after she was busted driving while disqualified for the seventh time.
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Representing herself in Mudgee Local Court on May 4, Jessica Rose Olyve defended her actions, claiming she only drove to assist a friend.
"The need to be there for my friend outweighed the consequences of driving," she said in open court.
According to documents tendered to the court, police said they saw a white Mercedes sedan traveling along Barney's Reed Road towards Gulgong about 2.25pm on January 2 this year.
Police recognised the car as it had been parked out the front of Olyve's home earlier that day.
After signaling Olyve to stop, police approached the 39-year-old who was sitting in the driver's seat and accompanied by a female passenger.
Olyve was asked about the status of her licence. She told officers it wasn't valid.
Olyve was breath tested for alcohol and returned a negative result, however a subsequent drug test returned a positive indication for methamphetamine.
Police found three glass pipes - one was broken - and two clear reusable plastic bags with white powder residue.
Olyve said one glass pipe belonged to 'Kaylene' and that she had picked the bags up off the ground because she "thought they were cool". Police noted a nearby cross street was Kaylene Crescent.
Olyve was arrested and taken to Mudgee Police Station where she provided a second drug test sample that later came back positive for meth.
She was charged with driving with an illicit drug present in blood and while disqualified.
Three days later police said they saw Olyve driving along Cope Road in Ulan in the same white Mercedes sedan about 4.20pm.
Police turned around and drove into Ulan when they noticed Olyve's car parked in the Ulan Hotel car-park on Mackay Street, approximately 500 metres from where police first saw her.
After pulling up next to Olyve, who tipped her head back to look up at the sky, police asked if she had a licence. "I haven't got one," she said. "I was just helping a friend out and meeting someone at Turill."
This proved to be Olyve's seventh driving while disqualified charge since 2013.
Magistrate Elizabeth Ellis found no alternative to a prison sentence after hearing Olyve's self-read submission that placed blame for the offence on her friend, and taking into account her "extensive" criminal history.
"She was under an ICO at the time, it's concerning that she continues to flout the order. She's been given every option aside from prison. There appears to be no other alternative," Magistrate Ellis said.
Olyve was sentenced to 12 months behind bars with a non-parole period of eight months. She will be released on parole in January next year.
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