HOPPING into a car with the wrong person has resulted in a criminal charge for a 41-year-old man.
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Michael Bernard Lloyd Fardell, of Forrest Place, Bathurst, pleaded guilty in Bathurst Local Court on April 17, 2024 to contravening an apprehended violence order (AVO).
Police documents before the court said police were doing random breath testing along Hereford Street at Kelso at about 7.30pm on March 22, 2024 when they pulled over a Mazda CX-7.
There was a man behind the wheel and Fardell in the passenger seat, according to police.
Checks on the police database showed Fardell was in breach of an AVO by being in the presence of the driver.
He was arrested and taken to Bathurst Police Station, where he said the driver had picked him up and that it wasn't his fault.
Fardell was charged with the breach.
Sentence
FARDELL'S solicitor submitted that the offending was at the bottom of the scale, and said his client felt like it was the behaviour of the PINOP (person in need of protection) that was at the core of the matter.
"The court won't accept any victim-blaming," Magistrate Elizabeth Ellis said.
Fardell was placed on a community correction order for 18 months.
