Fallen gameshow host Andrew O’Keefe did not appear in court on Monday when his latest drug-driving charge came before a magistrate for the first time.
O’Keefe’s lawyer Jahan Kalantar referred to the existence of a previous non-publication order when the case was mentioned briefly in Waverley Local Court but did not publicly explain his client’s absence.
Mr Kalantar handed a document up to magistrate Stephen Barlow, who agreed to adjourn the matter until next month.
O’Keefe allegedly tested positive to methylamphetamine while driving his Mercedes C200 in Sydney‘s eastern suburbs six months ago but he was not charged until late November.
The 53-year-old former presenter of Deal or No Deal and The Chase Australia was pulled over for random testing on Cranbrook Road in Rose Bay about 11.30am on July 28 last year.
A negative breath test was followed by another for drugs which allegedly returned a positive result. An subsequent oral test at Waverley police station also allegedly came back positive and a sample was taken for further analysis.
Shortly before O’Keefe was pulled over that day he had confronted a man at a Point Piper property he was banned from attending.
Following inquiries O’Keefe was charged with contravening an apprehended violence order and stalk/intimidate with intent to cause for fear.
He was released on bail after appearing in Waverley Local Court but was arrested again at Rose Bay police station in September when police found meth in his car during a search.
Two days earlier, O’Keefe had overdosed on heroin at a party and needed to be revived by paramedics.
O’Keefe pleaded guilty in October to trespassing, breaching an an apprehended violence order and possessing crystal methamphetamine in relation to the events of July 28.
Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge fined O’Keefe $500 for trespassing and $1,000 for possessing a prohibited drug.
For breaching the AVO, Ms Milledge sentenced O’Keefe to a 30-month community corrections order which required him to attend rehab.
At the same time, he was fined $2,000 for driving with an illicit drug in his system at Darlinghurst in April and disqualified from getting behind the wheel for three months.
On that occasion, Ms Jacqueline Milledge assured the TV star he was looking at time behind bars if he continued to break the law.
‘You have been given lots of opportunities to do something about your use of drugs,’ Ms Milledge told O’Keefe.
‘I can assure you the next step is jail. I’m not just saying that, I absolutely mean it.
‘It’s got to the state where the court would believe you just can’t be rehabilitated.’
Ms Milledge told O’Keefe that his life had ‘just completely gone off the rails’ and it was his responsibility to fix it.
‘I know domestic violence is a factor in your offending and that is awful, truly awful,’ she said.
‘You got into the grip of something awful and the wheels fell off.’
The magistrate said she remembered telling O’Keefe ‘God help you’ during a previous court appearance.
‘I am personally disappointed that you’re where you are and you haven’t managed to get yourself back on your feet,’ she said.
‘I just wish you’d get yourself back to a position where you can do something for the community again.’
At the time, O’Keefe’s lawyer told Ms Milledge: ‘This, Your Honour, is what we say is the final crossroads.’
He was found guilty in January last year of domestic violence and drug offences after a ‘degrading’ attack on a woman who cannot be identified.
The drug conviction was later quashed but O’Keefe lost an appeal against the assault convictions in August.
In December 2023 he escaped conviction after pleading guilty in Downing Centre Local Court to driving through Point Piper with drugs in his system earlier that year.
O’Keefe had been pulled over while in charge of his Mercedes C200 sedan in January and returned a positive test to methamphetamine.
A second oral fluid sample provided at Waverley police station tested negative but was later deemed positive after further analysis.
During the 2023 sentencing, magistrate Miranda Moody said O’Keefe had since returned negative screenings for drugs and was being treated by a psychiatrist and psychologist.
‘To his credit, he’s clearly had some issues with illicit drug use and I’ve been provided material to his use of drugs or lack thereof,’ Ms Moody said at the time.
‘There have been none detected for some time. I’ve also been provided a report by a psychologist and a psychiatrist. He’s engaged in treatment.
‘Given the enormous amount of work Mr O’Keefe is doing in relation to his drug and health issues I’m prepared to not record a conviction.’
Ms Moody sentenced O’Keefe to a 12-month community release order.
