Samuel Thomas Reardon caught driving in Manjimup eight days after licence suspended

A Lower South West man convicted of a third driving offence for 2022 has been warned another could land him in jail and “sharing a cell with a murderer”.

Samuel Thomas Reardon on January 5 appeared in Manjimup Magistrates Court, pleading guilty to driving without authority due to a prior licence suspension, which was issued just eight days before his latest offence.

Reardon was seen by police travelling on Mottram Street in Manjimup at 10.30am on October 21 in a Holden Cruze sedan.

Police pulled the car over and identified Reardon as the driver. His licence had been suspended eight days earlier from another driving conviction.

The court heard the conviction would be Reardon’s third in 2022.

Magistrate Linda Keane said she could not understand why Reardon would continue to drive.

“Why do you keep driving when the court tells you that you can’t?” she said.

Mgt Keane warned Reardon that another driving offence could lead to jail time, and said he would be sent to maximum security prison before being shifted elsewhere.

She said that meant Reardon could end up sharing a cell with serious criminals, including a murderer, and encouraged him to correct his behaviour before this was the case.

Reardon was fined $1750 on the no authority to drive — suspended (other than fines suspension) charge, and ordered to pay court costs of $264.30.

Reardon was also issued with a nine-month licence disqualification.

A second or subsequent offence of the same nature could lead to a fine of between $1000 and $4000 and a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months.

In those circumstances, the court also has the power to disqualify the alleged offender from obtaining an Australian licence for a nine-month to three-year period, depending on the severity of the offence.