A woman who committed several road offences despite having two suspended jail sentences hanging over her head will spend several more months in jail.
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Elizabeth Anne Quill, 37, of Swan Bay, received a three-month suspended sentence in June last year for causing the death by negligent driving of Jayden John Pearce, 18, in a crash on Christmas Day 2018.
Quill also had a 10-week suspended jail sentence handed down in May last year for drug driving in the aftermath of the fatal crash.
Magistrate Simon Brown resisted a defence submission for Quill to be sentenced to a home detention order and for it to be unjust to activate the suspended sentences.
Quill had been in custody since September 17 last year after being caught driving while disqualified and driving with illicit drugs in her system in William Street on August 31 and on Invermay Road in September.
In November, Quill pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified in William Street, Launceston, and two counts of possessing a thing for smoking drugs.
Mr Brown said Quill had breached both suspended sentences within months.
He said she had an unremarkable record until developing a drug addiction in mid-2018.
"You're offending escalated quickly over a period of about three years," he said.
Mr Brown said an important factor in sentencing was that Quill was unmotivated to address her drug issues via a Community Correction Order and had failed to attend Alcohol and Drug Services.
He said her continued offending was also a significant issue because she had already received the benefit of two suspended sentences.
"You continued to drive and consume drugs," he said.
"There really is no evidence of rehabilitation between May and June and your remand in custody in September."
Mr Brown said he did not believe the imposition of a further suspended sentence or a home detention order was appropriate.
He activated the three-month suspended sentence and backdated it to September 17.
He also activated the 10-week suspended sentence and made it concurrent, to be served at the same time, with the three-month sentence.
He recorded convictions for possession of a smoking device and an ice pipe.
"On the balance of the matters I sentence you to four months cumulative to the sentence above," he said.
He disqualified Quill from driving for a further 12 months.
Mr Brown agreed with a submission last year from defence counsel Alan Hensley that Quill had suffered some extra curial punishment in the form of publicity about her offending.
Mr Hensley also said her home had been ransacked after news of her arrest in September broke.
During a plea in mitigation last year defence counsel Alan Hensley said that Quill's home had been completely ransacked after she was remanded in custody in September
"Within hours her house was completely ransacked with chattels stolen or destroyed," he said.
"She lost everything of value to her in regard to chattels."
He said the house was probably not habitable as a result.
In the plea hearing the Department of Community Corrections opposed Quill being sentenced to a home detention order.
At that time Mr Hensley told the court that he would seek to cross examine officials if the home detention assessment went against his client.
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Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
