Drink driver more than four times the legal limit

Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Peter Clarke told the court Coates blew 0.229 when he was stopped by police on Ogilvie Ave, Echuca, on February 12.

Leading Sen Constable Clarke said his licence had also expired.

The court heard Coates’s vehicle was impounded for 30 days from the date of the offence.

When interviewed by police, Coates said he had been drinking at Tara’s Hall Hotel in Echuca and was unaware that his licence had expired.

The court was told he had one relevant prior conviction in 2015.

Coates’s solicitor Maddie French said at the time of the offence, her client had just “separated from his girlfriend and was not coping with the separation”.

She said her client had instructed her that since the offence had occurred, he had “limited his alcohol consumption”, and had taken on work as a welder.

In fining Coates, magistrate Ross Maxted said he had taken into account that it was Coates’s first time appearing in court, which he deserved “some credit for”.

He was fined $1500 and has been disqualified from driving for 22 months.