Dunedin District Court

A FIFTHTIME drinkdriver was sentenced to home detention and disqualified from driving for 18 months when he appeared before Judge John Walker in the Dunedin District Court yesterday.

Barry John Chapman (33) had been convicted of driving with a breathalcohol level of 440mcg, in Woodland Ave, Mosgiel, about 5.45pm on October 28 last year.

Spoken to after a police patrol noticed him fail to indicate, Chapman said he had had a few beers and believed he would be under the limit to drive.

Counsel Anne Stevens said ‘‘he was not far wrong, but he was wrong’’.

Chapman had had no difficulty maintaining abstinence since. He had also approached the Community Alcohol and Drug Service, and Moana House. There was an eightyear gap since his last such conviction. He entered a very early guilty plea and was assessed as at low risk of reoffending, Mrs Stevens said.

Agreeing Chapman could have a sentence short of imprisonment, the judge said 440mcg was not a high level. But it was an offence nevertheless. Maintaining abstinence was the only was to remain out of jail.

‘‘You will need help. It is not an easy thing to do. That you have sought help is in your favour,’’ he told Chapman.

Chapman’s home detention, for 41/2 months and with six months’ post detention conditions, includes a requirement not to possess or consume alcohol and to undergo an alcohol and drug programme.

Guilty of careless driving

A crash on State Highway 8 between Lake Tekapo and Twizel, resulted in six months’ driving disqualification for Van Phong Tran (42) when he pleaded guilty to careless driving causing injury.

Prosecutor Senior Constable John Somerfield said the victim was Tran’s wife.

The couple live in Newcastle, Australia.

About 11.55am on April 17, Tran was driving a rental vehicle, about 2km south of Simons Pass.

He lost control of the vehicle which went into a ditch on the opposite side of the road, narrowly avoiding a tree before coming to a stop on a farm fence.

Tran’s wife, his front seat passenger, was airlifted to Dunedin hospital.

As a result of the crash she received a fracture to her L1 vertebra and had posterior stabilisation surgery on April 23.

Tran said he could not remember anything about the crash.

Counsel Max Winders said Tran received a substantial head knock in the accident. His memory of what occurred was fragmentary. He could remember a blue car in front of him. He thought something happened to distract him.

Tran, a civil engineer in Vietnam, was working as a cleaner in Australia while his wife was studying for her PhD. She was likely to be discharged from hospital on Monday. They would then immediately travel back to Australia, Mr Winders said.

Judge Walker took into account Tran’s acceptance of responsibility and his guilty plea.

Further, although the actual cause of the accident could not be determined, it was likely to be lowlevel carelessness from some distraction, he said.

Imposing a conviction and the driving disqualification, the judge said there would also normally be a fine.

‘‘But I’m not going to do that as it would have an effect on your wife — the victim,’’ he told Tran.

Other convictions

Lindsay Read (29), driver, of Dunedin, drinkdriving (seen driving east at speed, ran an orangered light, pulled over by police; duty lawyer Louise Garthwaite said Read had lost his job because of the incident), 174mg, 11.40pm, February 20, Moray Place, 60 hours’ community work, six months’ disqualification.

Tessa Briana Morris (22), employed, of Dunedin, drinkdriving, 699mcg (random breath test), Vogel St, 1.55am, March 31, fined $500, court costs $130, disqualified six months.

Brett Ronald Joyce (56), employed, of Dunedin, drinkdriving, 644mcg (stopped at check point), Thomas Burns St, 8.53pm, March 26, fined $600, court costs $130, disqualified six months.

Ravitesh Ronell Ratnam (25), student, of Dunedin, drinkdriving (stopped for a random breath test, admitted consuming alcohol, stated he was just driving home from the bar, no previous convictions; duty lawyer Ann Leonard said Ratnam had been drinking with friends at a comedy show and would be a lot more careful in future), 594mcg, 2.10am, March 10, Andersons Bay Rd, fined $600, court costs $130, six months’ disqualification.

Martini Anton Tame Samson (33), labourer, of Dunedin, breaching protection order (engaged in behaviour amounting to psychological abuse of protected person), evening February 9, nine months’ supervision. Samson told judge he has selfreferred to ‘‘Stopping Violence’’.

Wyatt CamRon Kirby (20). student, cannabisimpaired driving, Cambridge, January 14, fined $200, court costs $130, analyst’s fee $652.63, disqualified eight months (a drinkdrive conviction last year, court told).

Chase Ethan Wright (27), employed, of Dunedin, driving while driver licence suspended (stopped for driver licence check), urban motorway, State Highway 1, 1.25am, March 25, 60 hours’ community work, disqualified six months from June 19 — his suspension ending midnight June 18.

Hayley Valerie Solheim (35), of Dunedin, breaching intensive supervision (failed to report to probation), December 22 last year and January 17 this year; breaching community work (failed to report), January 10, existing intensive supervision and community work cancelled, new 18month term intensive supervision (includes requirement to undergo residential rehabilitation and relapse prevention programmes, and threemonthly judicial monitoring).

Brendon James Renton (25), of Christchurch, assault (first conviction for violence), breach of bail (failed to appear in court), March 23, fined $500, court costs $130.