Disgraced ex-Blues ace caught drink-driving
A DISGRACED ex-Manchester City footballer who was locked up for killing a brother and sister in a road smash is facing jail after being caught drink-driving following a night out at the Christmas markets.
Courtney Meppen-Walter, 24, was found to be more than twice the alcohol limit after he was arrested on Monday following a 3am tussle with a police patrolman in Manchester city centre.
Officers had pulled their patrol car in front of the former Blues starlet’s Fiat Picanto after they saw him crash into a kerb and then stall the vehicle at traffic lights on red.
When he was stopped MeppenWalter, who now plays for nonleague Chorley, initially refused to get out of the car and had to be hauled out. He was said to have resisted the officer and was eventually pulled to the floor with the help of two passersby, Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard.
On Friday the defender admitted driving with excess alcohol and driving with the front wheel cord on his tyre exposed. He could face up to six months in jail.
He will be sentenced in the New Year following the preparation of reports. He appeared in court from police cells but was freed on unconditional bail.
Meppen-Walter shook his head in the dock as details of his latest arrest emerged. He was seen to hold his head his hands when lawyers discussed his previous driving history.
Tests showed Meppen-Walter of Heywood, near Rochdale, had 85 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
His lawyer, Miss Leveene Hill, said: “He had no intention of con- suming any alcohol but does admit he decided to partake. He then tells me he got into a mood and drove home. He didn’t consider where he was over the limit or what would have happened.
“The police pulled him over and when they asked him to provide a sample of breath he did so. His initial response was of shock in reference to his previous police involvement. There has been no other offending.”
In February 2013, Meppen-Walter, then 18, was locked up for 16 months after the Mercedes he was driving ploughed into a red Nissan Micra, killing Kulwant Singh, 32, and his 37-year old sister Ravel Kaur. Mrs Kaur’s two sons Amjid and Parveen, 16 and 17, had serious injuries and had to be cut free from the wreckage.