A 25-year-old Inverell man will be required to undergo a sight test to reclaim his licence after telling the magistrate he didn't hear or see police with full lights and sirens on.
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Magistrate Roger Prowse told Allan Kemp, solicitor for Brayden James Sunderland, that his client was "lying to the court through his teeth".
Police facts tendered to Inverell Local Court on Thursday outlined Sunderland failed to stop for police on Chester Street at about 1.10am in September, when they attempted to pull him over for a random breath test.
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Turning into a driveway and parking, he told police he didn't see or hear them. Noting his bloodshot eyes, police asked if he'd been drinking, to which Sunderland replied that he'd had two beers.
Magistrate Prowse, when reading the facts, said Sunderland obviously "knew the law very well" in that police were not allowed to breathalyse him on his own property, or property he was renting.
Because Sunderland claimed he'd recently moved to that address, police couldn't carry out the breath test. He then proceeded to tell the officers that the expired licence "was a mistake".
Sunderland originally entered a plea of not guilty in November to three charges: failing to stop for police; driving with an expired licence; and thirdly, not wearing an appropriate face covering.
On Thursday, Sunderland changed his plea to guilty for the first two, and the third was dropped by the prosecution.
The magistrate remarked the bigger problem was that "a deaf and blind person was driving on public roads", noting his extensive traffic record disentitled him to any leniency.
He said police lights "could be seen from the dark side of the moon" and he had no doubt Sunderland had heard police when "they were right up your clanger".
For failing to stop, Sunderland was convicted, fined $1800 and disqualified from driving for five years. He got a $500 fine and a 12-month disqualification for the expired licence.
The court ordered he must undergo a sight test to regain his licence at the end of his disqualification period.
"I don't want someone on the road who is deaf and blind," Magistrate Prowse noted.
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