Man charged for illegally entering Kimberley forced to leave region before intrastate travel ban

A 36-year-old Kardinya man will be facing a race against time to leave the Kimberley region and travel to the Midwest before the intra-state travel bans take effect. William Francis Forde, who did not appear in court, was in isolation at Broome Regional Prison after allegedly entering the Kimberley town illegally under travel restrictions set by the Federal Government in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was alleged Mr Forde had approached a checkpoint that was set up by police at Sandfire Roadhouse at 6.40am on Friday and was denied entry. However, Mr Forde allegedly breached the checkpoint and was found in Broome on Saturday night and was arrested. Police prosecutor Sergeant Phil Milne told the court Mr Forde was not a Broome resident and did not fall within any areas of exemption but did support a bail application that would allow Mr Forde to travel out of the region. It is understood Mr Forde will be travelling by road to reside at Kalbarri Backpackers, with Magistrate Andrew Maughan emphasising he would need to make sure he gets there and go into self-isolation before the intra-state travel bans come into effect from 11.59pm tomorrow. Mr Forde will next appear in Geraldton Magistrates Court on April 16.