A short trip to the petrol station for food and cellphone credit has landed a Blenheim man with a community work sentence.
David Rawiri Merito, a 49-year-old forestry worker, was charged with driving with excess breath alcohol, driving while disqualified and losing traction in a motor vehicle.
He pleaded guilty to the charges at the Blenheim District Court on Monday.
Judge Zohrab sentenced Rawiri to six months' community detention, nine months' supervision, 120 hours of community work and disqualified him from driving for 18 months on top of his existing disqualification.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Graham Single said Merito drove 400 metres to a petrol station on Main St after a work Christmas party on December 18 to top up credit on his mobile phone.
He said Merito accelerated heavily when leaving the station, resulting in a 30 metre burnout on Main St.
Judge Tony Zohrab questioned why Rawiri did not walk to the petrol station instead, given he had been drinking and was already disqualified from driving.
Rawiri was found to have a breath alcohol level of 702 micrograms – the legal limit is 400mcg.
Defence counsel Laurie Murdoch said Rawiri was having a phone conversation with his ex-partner about their children but his phone ran out of credit and, desperate to continue the conversation, he drove rather than walked to the shop.
Not sober enough
Using a friend's personal breath tester to check she was not over the limit was no guarantee she was sober enough to drive, a Clifford Bay woman has found.
Rosa Lee Dillon Davison, 61, a landscape gardener, lost her driver's licence for six months and was fined $400 for driving with a blood alcohol level of 101 milligrams in Picton on March 6 when she appeared in court on Monday.
The legal limit is 80mg.
She was also ordered to pay $130 in court costs.
Lawyer Gary Sawyer said Davison had been out sailing and used a friend's handheld alcohol breath test device which told her she was under the limit.
But when stopped by police on Waikawa Rd she was over the breath alcohol limit. A blood test also showed she was over the limit.
Other drink drivers appearing in the Blenheim District Court:
Samantha Jo Malzard, 25, a produce worker of Blenheim, eba 460mcg, disqualified for six months, fined $400, court costs $130.
Laurence Ferretti, 28, of Blenheim, eba 444mcg, fined $500 and disqualified for seven months.
Kathryn Lisa Jane Ford, 36, a sales assistant, eba 952mcg, fined $800, court costs $130, disqualified for six months.
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