Police were led to Peter Johnson's poor driving by a series of strong clues, including skid marks on the road, straight to his home.
After smashing through a fence into a suburban garden in his Ford Falcon, Johnson was then seen reversing out quickly and driving off erratically, on the wrong side of the road.
Later that night, on March 31 this year, the 47-year-old was seen doing a series of skids and donuts in the middle of an intersection in Stoke - a suburb of Nelson, as his vehicle let off a large plume of smoke.
In the Nelson District Court today, where Johnson appeared on his 12th drink-drive charge, police prosecution said they were able to follow a "large trail of skid marks" to his address, and on arrival noticed his vehicle was giving off a "strong smell of burning rubber".