Former television presenter Andrew O’Keefe has pleaded guilty to driving with drugs in his system earlier this year.
Key points:
- Andrew O’Keefe was charged in April after returning a positive drug test
- The former TV host was released from a rehabilitation facility last year
- A magistrate recorded no conviction after O’Keefe’s guilty plea
O’Keefe was stopped in his Mercedes C200 in Point Piper, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, on January 20.
After failing an initial saliva test, he was taken to a police station for a secondary test, which returned a positive test result for methamphetamine when it was sent away for analysis.
O’Keefe was charged with one count of driving a vehicle with illicit drugs present in his blood.
The case was due to reach a hearing today in Downing Centre Local Court, but the 52-year-old entered a plea of guilty.
His lawyer, Sharon Ramsden, produced documents to the court showing a raft of clear results from random tests, including one from 13 hours after the offence, to show his ongoing treatment for drug issues.
Magistrate Miranda Moody said O’Keefe did not have a driving history that “assists him”, commenting that it was “fairly persistent”.
But she said to his credit, there had been no drugs detected in his system for “quite some time” despite clearly having “some issues” with illicit drug use.
“It appears Mr O’Keefe is well engaged in treatment, which is once again to his credit,” she said.
The magistrate said she was prepared to deal with the matter by way of a 12-month good behaviour bond “given the enormous amount of work Mr O’Keefe seems to be doing” in relation to his drug and mental health issues.
She recorded no conviction.
Outside court, O’Keefe said the outcome was “very sensible”.
He thanked the magistrate for acknowledging his ongoing efforts with treatment.
“Obviously I’ve got to keep doing well,” he said.
‘I don’t use them’
Referring to the incident, O’Keefe said recording two positive and two negative test results was “very unusual”.
According to the agreed facts before the court, O’Keefe was stopped in the early hours of the morning.
A roadside breath test was negative but then a “drug-wipe” returned a positive result for methamphetamine.
He then provided a saliva sample at Waverley Police Station for the secondary test.
Part of the sample returned a negative result, but the remainder was sent to the NSW Forensic and Analytical Science Service.
He was charged in April after that result came back positive.
According to the court documents, O’Keefe was asked about taking drugs and replied: “I don’t use them.”
O’Keefe was released from a rehabilitation centre in late October 2022.