LAST WARNING: Blair Anthony Nolan has narrowly avoided a jail sentence after his eighth drink-driving offence.
LAST WARNING: Blair Anthony Nolan has narrowly avoided a jail sentence after his eighth drink-driving offence.
It is prison for sure next time, a judge has warned a repeat drink-driver.
In the Masterton District Court yesterday, a reluctant Judge Chris Tuohy said Blair Anthony Nolan would narrowly avoid jail time in favour of home detention after his eighth conviction for drink driving.
Nolan appeared for sentencingon his seventh and eighth drink-driving charges, having pleaded guilty at an earlier appearance.
The court heard how on June 27 Nolan was caught driving with a level of 776mcg of alcohol.
On August 28, while Nolan was still before the court facing the first charge, he drove over the limit again. This time he was caught with a level of 976mcg, over twice the legal limit of 400mcg of alcohol per litre of breath.
Defence lawyer James Elliot said Nolan had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and was seeking treatment for an alcohol addiction.
"He has a long history of alcohol addiction. His first appearance before the court in 1996 was in relation to driving under the influence of alcohol. There is a clear rehabilitative need," Mr Elliot said.
Judge Tuohy said Nolan's six previous convictions for drink driving were between 1996 and 2007. "These are your seventh and eighth convictions. Clearly imprisonment is the appropriate sentence when they are at this height and at that amount, and one committed while being before the court on the other," Judge Tuohy said.
He said Nolan had, however, enrolled in the Care New Zealand Driving Forward programme for repeat drink drivers. "With a bit of reluctance I have decided to go with that rather than just send you to prison, but you need to understand that it's prison for sure next time."
Judge Tuohy sentenced Nolan to six months' home detention, with the conditions he complete the Driving Forward programme and not possess or consume alcohol or illicit drugs.
He also imposed 150 hours' community work and indefinite disqualification.
