Dean Wickliffe pleads guilty to drink driving and driving while disqualified

Dean Wickliffe was back in Tauranga District Court today to face a charge of breaching his parole conditions. Photo/File

High-profile parolee Dean Wickliffe was back before a Tauranga court today pleading guilty to drink driving and driving while disqualified.

Hugh Dean Wickliffe, 69, has spent 41 years of his life in prison. He appeared in the Tauranga District Court today via audio-visual link from prison, and also pleaded guilty to breaching his parole release conditions by consuming alcohol on March 14.

The court heard Wickliffe was stopped at a compulsory checkpoint on Oropi Rd in Tauranga about 11pm.

A blood alcohol test showed he had 114mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80mg per 100ml.

He told police he had been drinking with his sisterand began driving home to Maketu after an argument.

Judge David Cameron convicted Wickliffe on all three charges and remanded him on bail for sentencing on May 29.

Wickliffe's lawyer John Holmes said Wickliffe's final parole hearing to decide whether he should be recalled to prison on the parole breach would be tomorrow.

Wickliffe has been freed and recalled to prison five times between 1987 and 2011.

His most recent release was granted in May last year when the Parole Board ordered Wickliffe not to consume any alcohol or drugs.

His March 14 arrest was second time he had been caught drink-driving since his release. He was recalled to prison.

He was also caught driving on Parton Rd on September 23 with an excess breath alcohol of 754mcg - just over three times the adult legal limit of 250mcg.

In October he pleaded guilty to two charges, one of breaching a special condition of his parole release by consuming alcohol and another of excess breath alcohol.

The most serious of Wickliffe's 50-odd convictions was the manslaughter of Wellington jeweller Paul Miet during an armed robbery in 1972.