Morning bust after big night on booze

A Kaikohe man who was more than three times over the legal alcohol limit when stopped one morning, had thought he would be okay to drive after drinking heavily the previous night.

Murry CASSIDY, 22, appeared for sentence in the Kaikohe District Court on a charge of driving with excess breath alcohol after he was stopped by police on De Merle St, Kaikohe, at 8.30pm on April 20.

A breath test showed he had a level of 1289 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath, more than three times over the 400mcg limit.

In explanation, Cassidy told police he had been drinking the previous night and thought it would be out of his system by the morning.

He was sentenced to 28 days' home detention and disqualified from driving indefinitely.

Northland has some of the highest rates of drink-driving in the country, particularly repeat offenders, and the Northern Advocate is publishing its "name and shame" list of all people convicted of drink-driving offences in the region.

Also sentenced in Northland's courts recently were:

Rex Patrick HARKIN, 64, beneficiary, 676mcg, 250 hours' community work, disqualified from driving for 12 months for third drink-driving conviction.

William Alan BLITHE, 60, 503mcg, $700 fine, $132 court costs, disqualified from driving for six months.

Jerry PAUL, 33, fencer, 690mcg, 50 hours' community work, disqualified from driving for six months.

George William HING, 25, fabricator, 520mcg, $400 fine, disqualified from driving for six months.

Than Frederick HEWINSON, 22, 777mcg, $650 fine, disqualified from driving for six months.

Gary Shane MESSENGER, 43, 615mcg, $550 fine, disqualified from driving for six months.

Richard Craig Alan LEDGERWOOD, 39, 694mcg, 120 hours' community work, nine months' supervision, disqualified from driving for nine months.

Alan James MCGOVERN, 45, plant operator, 139 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, $600 fine, disqualified from driving for six months.

Simon RIPLEY, 37, 107mg, $400 fine, disqualified from driving for six months.

Liquor limits: Aged 20 and above: 400mcg of alcohol per litre of breath; 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Under 20: Young drivers with a blood alcohol limit of between 0.00 and 0.03 will receive an infringement fee of $200 and 50 demerit points. Young drivers with a blood alcohol limit over that will continue to be subject to the same drink-drive penalties as adults.