Dentist wins conviction battle

Masterton dentist Robert Watcyn Jones has been acquitted of drink-driving. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

A Masterton man whose back was broken in a road crash has had a related drink-driving conviction quashed in the High Court.

Robert Watcyn Jones, 62, a dentist, was found guilty of drink-driving after a defended hearing in November 2014 at which his lawyers argued his drinks had been spiked with extra alcohol.

Mr Jones was charged by police for having an alcohol reading of 88 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood after he crashed his car on a Castlepoint road and was airlifted to Wellington Hospital with a broken back in August 2013.

His conviction was overturned by Justice Denis Clifford in the High Court at Wellington last Thursday on the grounds the prosecution did not prove beyond reasonable doubt his blood level exceeded the legal limit, as a private analysis of his blood sample gave a reading of only 73 milligrams, seven below the limit.

Speaking to the Wairarapa Times-Age on Friday, Mr Jones said he was "very pleased" the right result had been reached.

"I'm not a drinker, that's the irony, so that's why I wanted to pursue it. It was a slur on my reputation.

"I understood the prosecution's stance that they needed to make an example but I'm very grateful that I had such a great legal team and the resources to be able to pursue it to its conclusion."

Mr Jones said he had been at a party where people were making Black Russians and he believed he had accidentally been passed a drink which contained alcohol.

"A lot of people were mixing drinks and I thought that I was drinking Coca-Cola and somebody said they had seen some alcohol being put into the Coca-Cola," he said.

He said he thought he had only had one or two drinks, and had been hugely surprised when police told him he was over the legal limit. "I was surprised because I couldn't possibly believe that what I'd had drunk could've failed a breathalyser."

Having seen the effects of drink-driving during his work as a cosmetic dentist, he did not blame police for choosing to charge him. "I don't hold any bitterness, drink driving is a terrible thing. Nobody should drink and drive so I understand the police decision to continue with the prosecution."

During Mr Jones' trial in Masterton District Court, the court had heard from a specialist scientist, Samantha Coward, that it was possible alcohol levels in the blood sample could have changed due to deterioration, as the second test was run five months and one week after the sample was taken.

But under cross-examination by Mr Jones' lawyer, Roderick Mulgan, Ms Coward could not confirm that deterioration had caused the variation in the second reading.

In his judgment, Justice Clifford concluded Ms Coward agreed with, or did not challenge, other evidence given by a doctor that not all samples do deteriorate.

"It must therefore be a reasonable possibility that the variation between the ESR results and Dr Madhavaram's results was not caused by the deterioration of the second bottle . . . I find the judge erred in concluding that she was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Jones' blood alcohol was 88 milligrams."