A man who was 10 days away from having his licence returned, appeared again in Ballarat Magistrate’s Court on Monday, charged with driving while disqualified and drug driving.
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Magistrate Gregory Robinson said he needed time to consider the fate of Christopher Uthenwoldt, who has an extensive offending history and stood the matter down until later in the day to consider defence lawyer Andrew Madden’s clemency plea.
The court was told that on 3 March 2018 at 7.57pm, the accused was stopped by police on Skipton Road at Redan and a subsequent drug test proved positive for methyamphetamine and THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol – a cannibas constituent).
Uthenwoldt was also driving while disqualified and the registration plates on his car did not belong to that vehicle, the police informant said.
The court heard Uthenwoldt had an extensive history of prior offences, including CCO breaches, and charges of trafficking amphetamine and driving while disqualified.
Mr Madden conceded “there is a bit of history there” but said his client’s son and parents were all in court and had submitted letters of support for him.
He said Uthenwoldt had spent 13 of the past 22 years in jail but had taken some positive steps and has not used drugs since March 3.
Mr Madden said while his client’s initial engagement with his community corrections work had been slow, he now had only 62.2 hours left on a 150-hour community order and would complete it by the end of October.
His client had also completed a drug counselling course which he now attends voluntarily and had been mentoring in woodwork as part of his community corrections order, he said.
He said Uthenwoldt now works in his son’s business and that his son, Jake, had said recently, “I can now say I’m proud to have him as family.”
The court heard that on 3 March 2018, the accused’s car had been impounded and he had since forfeited it.
“Why was he driving when he was 10 days away from the end of a six-month disqualification period?” Mr Robinson asked. “He concedes it was the wrong thing to do,” Mr Madden said.
Mr Robinson said Uthenwoldt was “driving while on a CCO with drugs in his system” and this had put the “community at great risk.”
“You seem to have a habit of coming to court on serious offences and then expecting leniency,” Mr Robinson said. “You have been given chances and you have repaid the court’s generosity by committing offences.”
Mr Robinson said now that Uthenwoldt was employed and had made positive changes, it was “in the community’s interest that you contribute and you don’t take up a spot in prison.”
Uthenwoldt was fined an aggregate of $1000, disqualified from driving for six months and placed on a 75-hour CCO to be completed over 24 months.
“The CCO is the only way I can ensure you are accountable, but if you come before me again you will go to jail. This is absolutely the last chance,” Mr Robinson said.
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