A young Corrimal woman on bail has been caught out visiting her friends during lockdown in breach of her curfew.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Defence lawyer Jordan Mechan said Talea Rose Ellis, 21, was out visiting friends after her curfew as she had not seen them while in custody on two occasions in recent weeks when she appeared in Wollongong Local Court on Friday.
She was arrested on Thursday and charged her with two counts of driving charges while her licence was cancelled.
CCTV captured her driving to a house in Kanahooka on August 31. Ellis was also seen arriving at home as a passenger about 12.40am on Monday before she went inside but then left and drove in another car, which breached her curfew.
Mr Mechan said Ellis "knew she had done the wrong thing", admits her "mistake" and acknowledged she "needs to stop" and "wants to turn her life around".
He said Ellis had the support of her father and wanted to seek treatment for her mental health and drug issues, particularly getting into an in-patient rehabilitation program.
If Ellis was refused release she also faced a lengthy time awaiting a March district court trial over an alleged break and enter, Mr Mechan said.
Magistrate Michael O'Brien said her original bail conditions were not "particularly onerous" as she only had to live at her Corrimal home and abide by a nighttime curfew.
He questioned why Ellis should be allowed to remain in the community awaiting the outcome of her trial if she could not comply with her bail conditions.
"If she wants to know why she is back in custody then all she has to do is look in the mirror," he said.
Magistrate O'Brien said Ellis had an "appalling criminal history" for someone so young and it was "tragic to see someone throw their life down the gutter".
Magistrate O'Brien said he did not believe Ellis' claims she wanted to stay out of trouble but granted her bail, warning her if she breached her strict conditions it was unlikely she would not be released again.
"Your ability to remain in the community hangs by a thread," he said. "You are in effect skating on thin ice in the middle of a heat wave.
"I very much doubt whether you have the resolve to do what is right, but I'm going to give you the opportunity to do that," to which Ellis replied, "it is now or never for me so I really appreciate it so much".
Ellis must live and spend every night at her Corrimal home with her father, report to police daily, organise a drug counselling session within seven days, not occupy the seat of a motor vehicle, not leave home unless with her father except to attend court, medical and legal appointments and submit to a drug test.
Her father had to agree to provide a $5000 surety, and she $1000.
The case was adjourned to September 28.
The Illawarra Mercury news app is now officially live on both iOS and Android devices. It is available for download in the Apple Store and Google Play.
Sign up to our newsletters
