A STUDENT who drove while more than 3½ times above the alcohol limit has been sentenced to 140 hours’ community service and banned from the roads for three years.
The Magistrate’s Court heard that Bradley Morris Vieira Da Costa (23) had seven double vodkas and two pints of cider before he got behind the wheel of his silver Audi in the early hours of 1 August.
St Brelade Centenier Amanda Wright, prosecuting, said that at 1.35am the police noticed Da Costa driving along Route de St Aubin without headlights on.
She said: ‘His pupils were dilated, his speech was very slurred and he smelt of alcohol.’
The police suspected he might also have taken drugs but none were found in his car.
Da Costa was arrested and a breath test at 2.20am showed 129 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.
Advocate Darry Robinson, defending, said there had been recent upsetting occurrences in Da Costa’s family life.
His grandmother had died, his grandfather had been diagnosed with cancer and his father had suffered heart attacks in the last year.
He added: ‘He is horrified by his action. It is his only offence and it is entirely out of character.
‘Mr Da Costa does not have a drink problem. This was a one-off.’
He said Da Costa was currently studying at Oxford Brookes University and hoped he would receive a community punishment order which he could start before returning to Oxford in September.
The Magistrate, Bridget Shaw, accepted he had no previous convictions but said: ‘It is an aggravating feature that you hadn’t turned your headlights on because you were so drunk.’
She agreed to a community punishment but warned him: ‘This is a direct alternative to being at La Moye.
‘You can’t expect to be given a second chance.’
After the three-year disqualification from driving Da Costa will have to retake the Jersey driving test.
