Andrea Louise Stewart: Narrogin grandma cops hefty fine and order for drink-driving, verbally abusing police

A Narrogin grandma who had to be physically restrained by police after verbally abusing an officer who caught her blowing three times over the legal alcohol limit has copped a hefty fine and a licence disqualification. Andrea Louise Stewart appeared in Narrogin Magistrates Court on September 30 and pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a request to give police personal details, exceeding 0.08g of alcohol per 100ml of blood, and having no authority to drive. In the same hearing, the 64-year-old pleaded not guilty to exceeding the speed limit by between 20km/h and 29km/h, reckless driving, failing to comply with a direction to stop, and breaching a bail undertaking. Police pulled Stewart over on Doney Street in Narrogin on June 10 about 4pm, and it was revealed she only had a learners permit after losing her licence because of countless DUI offences. Stewart was not accompanied by a licensed driver at the time. A roadside breath test revealed a blood alcohol reading of 0.131g — more than three times the legal limit — and police issued a roadside disqualification. When police asked for identification details, Stewart remained silent. Stewart was then forcibly removed from the vehicle by police, and began verbally abusing the officer. The court heard that Stewart said “f...... liar, you know who I am, I don’t have to tell you”, and “look it up on my car, I don’t have to tell you”. Police prosecutor Sgt Natalie Parkyn told the court on the same day at the same place, Stewart allegedly drove 79km/h in a 50km/h speed zone and failed to stop for police in an attempt to escape pursuit. Sgt Parkyn said Stewart also did not show up to her Narrogin Magistrates Court appearance on September 2, breaching her bail. The 64-year-old’s lawyer Wendy Stewart said her client had no intention of driving that day after drinking alone in her home, but she got behind the wheel because a man was swinging a golf club up and down her street and she feared for her safety. Ms Stewart said her client believed she did not need to provide her details to police because the officer knew her, despite the officer maintaining he did not. Magistrate Erin O’Donnell said that did not matter and it was police protocol to ask for personal details. Ms O’Donnell told Stewart she had seriously considered imprisonment because of her long history of similar offences but decided a community order to address Stewart’s alcohol reliance would be beneficial as it appeared that was the catalyst for her offending. Stewart was sentenced to a 10-month community-based order, fined $2800, ordered to pay $156 in costs, and had her licence disqualified for 30 months, backdated to June 10. She will next appear in Narrogin Magistrates Court on December 2 for trial allocation for the four remaining charges.