A MAN with a habit of illegally getting behind the wheel has been fined, following a court appearance last month.
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Joshua Albon, 42, of Wellington Street, Eglinton pleaded guilty in Bathurst Local Court on September 27, 2023 to possessing a prohibited drug and driving with an expired licence.
Court documents state police were called the scene of a crash on Hamilton Street in Eglinton around 5pm on August 24.
Once they arrived, officers saw Albon standing next to his silver Mitsubishi, which had been involved in the collision.
As Albon was speaking with police about his cancelled driver's licence, he dropped a small bag of cannabis from his pocket.
Albon was arrested and taken to Bathurst Police Station, where he said the 0.76 grams of cannabis was for his personal use.
Sentence
Magistrate Elizabeth Ellis likened Albon's offending to a cat with nine lives given his apparent habit for driving while unlicensed, as was heard by the court.
His Legal Aid solicitor Bree Masters then explained that her client had a heart condition and could not work as a result, which meant a reduced ability to pay fines.
"You have been dealt with so many fines, Mr Albon. You are lucky this charge does not have a disqualification period," Ms Ellis said.
"You are going to give the government even more money, yet again."
Albon was convicted of both charges and fined $1250.
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