QLD:Drunk teacher made bomb threat: court

AAP General News (Australia)
04-13-2011
QLD:Drunk teacher made bomb threat: court

By Christine Flatley

BRISBANE, April 13 AAP - A high school teacher made a bomb threat against a popular
Brisbane pub after she was refused entry for being too drunk, a court has been told.

Rebecca Leigh James, 28, pleaded guilty in the Brisbane District Court on Wednesday
to making a bomb hoax at the Regatta Hotel, in Brisbane's inner-west, on October 23, 2009.

Prosecutor Katrina Overell said James and two others had tried to enter the pub about
11pm but were refused because they were too intoxicated.

The trio left for a nearby pub but only after James repeatedly abused security guards
at the Regatta Hotel, telling them to "get a real job".

As they walked to the next pub, James phoned staff at the Regatta and told them there
was a bomb in the hotel that would explode in 10 minutes.

She said she wanted to let them know so they could evacuate the building and then told
them: "Bombs will go off all over Toowong".

The court was told the duty manager spoke to security about the earlier incident and
determined the threat had likely been made by James.

He did not order the evacuation of the hotel but called police, who attended a short time later.

James was arrested when she returned to the Regatta after midnight to look for her
lost engagement ring.

The court was told James, a Japanese teacher who is currently doing relief work in
Toowoomba, was addicted to the sedative Xanax at the time.

Defence barrister Paul Smith said the drug, when combined with alcohol, clouded her
judgment and caused her to become angry.

He said she had since stopped using the drug and is seeking medical treatment.

Chief Judge Patsy Wolfe sentenced James to two and a half years' probation, and did
not record a conviction.

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KEYWORD: JAMES

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