A MAN who was "at the crossroads" and had acknowledged he needed help for his problem of driving while drunk has been jailed for two months and given leave to apply for home detention.
In Masterton District Court yesterday Michael John Roera, 45, a shearer, of Carterton, was convicted of refusing
to give blood on February 13 while driving in Carterton.
Even though there had been no reading which would tell exactly the level of intoxication, Moera had admitted to police he had been drinking.
That conviction had been his sixth with two in the past five years.
In sentencing Roera, Judge Geoffrey Ellis told him that his drinking was a problem for him while "your driving is a problem for us".
He said there were plenty of people out there to help him if he thought he had a drinking problem and he didn't need to be told that by a judge.
He could not expect anything less than jail and the sentence must send a message to the community that if people got into a car to drive after they had been drinking they must be held accountable and the conduct denounced.
Pre-sentence reports said Roera showed he had the potential to be a role model for young men in the community, and Judge Ellis said he must also show that he was taking responsibility for his behaviour and if "you break the law there will be consequences".
Judge Ellis deferred the commencement of Roera's jail term for two months and disqualified him from driving for two years.
The disqualification came with the condition that even when the two years were up he would not be able to hold a licence until he had been assessed and special permission granted from the director of Land Transport Safety Authority.
