A Royal Marine from Lympstone, East Devon, has been slapped with a driving ban after police caught him swigging wine from a bottle after crashing a car, then tampering with force breathalysing equipment.
A marine has been fined and banned from the road after switching off the police sample machine when he was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, writes Isabelle Pinnock, OPCC court reporting scheme.
Officers found the 20-year-old found behind the wheel with a bottle of wine at Synagogue Place, Exeter city centre, on March 22 this year.
Aaron Jeffrey, of the Commando Training Camp, Lympstone, pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to a Devon and Cornwall Police car, failing to cooperate with a preliminary breath test, failing to provide a specimen for analysis, and obstructing a constable in the execution of their duty.
At 3.45am, police received reports that the defendant was driving erratically on Topsham Road towards the city centre. He was reportedly seen stopping at green lights and swerving across the road with his hazard lights on.
At the scene, a member of the public said Jeffrey had crashed into bollards on Synagogue Place. The defendant was in the driver’s seat and officers saw him take a swig from a bottle of wine, which was already three quarters empty.
Jeffrey was slurring his words and unsteady on his feet. He refused to take a roadside breath test and was taken into custody.
The court heard he gave two specimens in custody but reached behind the sample machine and turned it off at the wall, so the readings could not be taken.
Jeffrey’s solicitor said he denies driving the vehicle and being involved in a collision.
“It was a very foolish decision,” the defence said. “It is much worse for him having not cooperated.”
Probation services said a community order would not be an appropriate sentence, as Jeffrey is due to be relocated to a nuclear base in Scotland imminently.
Sentencing, the chair of magistrates said: “You have got a long career ahead of you. I am under no delusion that that career requires you to make good decisions, not poor ones that have landed you in court today.
“Normally, you would receive a community order, but we have heard practical reasons why that will not work.”
Jeffrey was banned from driving for 29 months and fined £692. He must also pay a surcharge of £277 and court costs of £85.
