A VAN driver who refused to give a breath sample to the States police has been sentenced to 120 hours of community service and banned from driving for three years.
Officers went to 26-year-old Thomas George Thorpe’s home in the early hours of 20 October after concerns were reported about his driving on Union Street, the Magistrate’s Court heard.
St Helier Centenier Jane Pearce, prosecuting, told the court: “The van was parked outside his home and the bonnet and tyres were still warm.”
But at police headquarters he refused to breathe into a breathalyser machine.
Advocate James Bell, defending, said Thorpe’s “judgment was clouded” at the time, not through alcohol but because of a leg injury he had recently suffered. He said: “He is remorseful. He regrets some of his interaction with the police.”
Advocate Bell added: “He is willing and able to do community service.”
Assistant Magistrate Adam Clarke told Thorpe: “This was an unnecessary offence that has placed you in difficulty.”
Mr Clarke also put Thorpe on probation for six months and ordered him to retake his driving test at the end of his three-year driving ban.
