Drug driver gave brother’s name to police
DRUG driver Paul Simon Dixon thought he’d come up with the perfect way to avoid justice after being pulled over by police.
The 34-year-old, from Heaton Norris, gave officers his brother’s name and date of birth when he was stopped in his Ford Focus near Pwllheli in North Wales last October.
He even maintained the ‘blatant lie’ when he was taken to the police station to be questioned, North Wales Live reported.
But he didn’t get away with it.
Police saw through his ruse and arrested him again at the Hafan y Mor holiday park the following day.
Dixon admitted the offence when he appeared
at Caernarfon Crown Court.
He also admitted a drug driving charge, driving when he had no insurance and was not the holder of a driving licence.
Jailing him for 12 months, Judge Huw Rees said giving false details is a serious offence.
He added: “Those who give false details commit a serious offence. It can cause real injustice. This was a blatant lie and you were trying to get away with it. And this was not for the first time.”
In addition to the prison sentence he was also banned from driving for three and a half years.
Elen Owen, prosecuting, said the officer stopped Dixon’s car at about 4.30pm and spoke to the driver.
“The defendant gave his name as Ronnie Dixon who is his brother. There was a strong smell of cannabis in the car and he gave a positive roadside test and was arrested.
“He gave a blood sample for analysis and was interviewed under the brother’s name and was released under investigation. But the police were suspicious and further inquiries revealed while there were similarities between the two the defendant was taller than him and he was arrested again the following day,” the barrister said.
Tests showed Dixon had cannabis in his blood at four times the driving limit.
Police also found the DVLA had revoked Dixon’s driving licence in 2016 and although he had applied for his licence back at the time of the offence the request was rejected by the Swansea-based agency.
Ms Owen said Dixon had previous convictions for drink-driving and giving false details to police dating back to 2006.
Brett Wilson, defending, said he would seek to persuade the court to suspend any prison sentence. He said the deception lasted little more than a day and no innocent party was investigated.
Dixon, he added, was ‘trying to turn a corner’ in his life and was engaging with the Probation Service.