Driver with 14 convictions caught again while driving teething, crying baby

A man with 14 driving offences was caught again while driving to get help from family for his teething baby. Photo / 123RF

Sleep-deprived and desperate to get his teething baby settled, disqualified driver Brandon Hefferen made the mistake of getting behind the wheel. Again.

It was October 4 last year when he was stopped by police while driving on a suburban Nelson street.

He admitted straight away he was a disqualified driver, and that he was driving his partner and unsettled baby to a family member’s house so Hefferen and his partner could get some sleep.

His record then included 11 black marks for driving while disqualified and a further three for driving while prohibited.

Hefferen, described by the police as a “serious offender”, has received a range of high-level sentences for his multiple driving offences since 2011, ranging from prison to intensive supervision and home detention.

The offending was not linked to poor driving, but for driving illegally while on a learner licence.

His lawyer, Kyle Simonsen, told the Nelson District Court during sentencing that a feature of the case was “the unique lack of bad driving”.

He said Hefferen’s newborn was having teething troubles which was why he was out driving. He said the apprentice fishing net maker had been doing his best to turn his life around, get on track and get the proper driver’s licence.

The 31-year-old was sentenced on Thursday on an assault charge which happened just before Christmas last year when Hefferen kicked his partner while they were out walking and then threatened to assault the person who saw it happen, plus a charge of driving while disqualified on a third or subsequent time.

But this time rather than disqualify him, Judge Mary O’Dwyer handed out a community-based sentence that would allow Hefferen to continue on the path of self-help he was already on.

She noted that 14 driving offences had occurred between 2011 and 2018, with a five-year gap since the last offence.

The police said they were neutral about a further disqualification but the public interest and Hefferen’s risk to others had to be considered.

“But I agree, none of the convictions were for bad driving,” Sergeant Chris Stringer said.

Judge O’Dwyer said that overall Hefferen’s offending had changed and slowed, which suggested he had matured and was moving into a more pro-social approach to life.

“That may be a reflection that you are now a father to two young children, including a new, 4-week-old baby,” Judge O’Dwyer said.

She said that, in weighing up whether to grant a community-based sentence in lieu of another disqualification, an unusual issue was that Hefferen had not yet secured his restricted driver’s licence.

Judge O’Dwyer said sentencing had been adjourned since February to allow Hefferen to do pre-licence training, but that the waiting times had been an obstacle.

“But you are on track and you are motivated to get your licence and to get out of this cycle of driving while disqualified.”

On the assault charge, Hefferen was convicted and sentenced to nine months of supervision, and on the charge of driving while disqualified, he was convicted and sentenced to six months of community detention plus 100 hours of community work.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.