Kye Anthony Windschuttel sentenced to jail for drink-driving

Kye Anthony Windschuttel, 23, of Bathurst Road, Orange, was sentenced to six months in prison after he pleaded guilty in Bathurst Local Court on May 10, 2023 to driving while disqualified and mid-range PCA. He has since lodged a severity appeal which will go before Orange District Court later this month.

Windschuttel was behind the wheel of a red Toyota Corolla heading along the Mitchell Highway in The Rocks around 11am on April 22, 2023 when a police radar spotted him doing 119 kilometres an hour in a 100km/h zone, court documents reveal.

He was stopped by police, who approached the driver's side door of the vehicle to find Windschuttel with car keys in his hand saying "just take them, I'm going back with you".

"Just take the keys, I'm unlicensed. I haven't got an interlock, I just want to know what's going to happen to my dog," Windschuttel said.

After Windschuttel gave police his licence, he was tested for alcohol by counting to ten into a device, which issued a reading 'warning'.

Police then put a tube onto the device so Windschuttel could blow into it for an accurate reading but he refused and said "I've already done it, I'm not blowing into it ... just take me back to the station".

A noticeably drunk Windschuttel was arrested and taken to Bathurst Police Station where he was taken into the breath analysis room and read the Form of Demand.

"I'm not doing it [alcohol test]," Windschuttel said to police before he thought "ah stuff it, I may as well".

The court heard Windschuttel gave an alcohol reading of 0.148, despite having his last full strength Carlton Dry long neck about 10pm the night before.

"This is funny, I reckon I could have done better ... I got off lucky," Windschuttel said to police as he laughed and joked about the situation.

While in custody, police did checks on his licence which showed it was disqualified until November 23, 2027 for a separate mid-range drink-driving charge.

Windschuttel, who police described as posing an "extreme risk" to the safety of others, was also issued a penalty notice for speeding.

Magistrate D Pearce began Windschuttel's sentencing by saying he was "in trouble" with a record littered by driving offences, which included four prior convictions of driving disqualified in three years and three convictions of driving unlicensed in the last six.

Legal Aid solicitor Simone Thackray told the court her client had a difficult childhood which was partly to blame, with him "never having a chance ... because he had no one to help".

Ms Thackray mentioned Windschuttel's periods of homelessness and his Aboriginality as grounds for a lesser sentence, despite him getting behind the wheel after he drunk "more than he normally would'' on this occasion.

"He was taking his partner to Macca's. His reaction at the police station was one of nervousness, but he appreciates it's a very serious matter," she said.

"Give him one last chance".

Mr Pearce said Windschuttel had a clear disregard for court orders and posed too much of a risk to community safety for anything other than jail to be offered.

"Going down to get Macca's is no excuse. He clearly shows a disregard for court orders ... and his criminal record does him no favours. He has to go to jail," he said.

Minutes after a teary Windschuttel hugged and kissed a woman as he was handcuffed and taken into custody, Ms Thackray lodged a bail application on the grounds her client was appealing the six month jail sentence.

Ms Thackray suggested an intensive correction order as an alternative to full time prison and that Windschuttel would comply with reporting conditions while on bail, along with making a legal promise to not drive.

The application was refused by Mr Pearce who said the appeal would likely be unsuccessful with it being "almost certain he'll [Windschuttel] go to jail".

Windschuttel's appeal will be heard in Orange District Court on May 22, 2023.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: