A BALLARAT man who accumulated more than $20,000 in unpaid fines has avoided jail.
Troy Davison, 31, appeared at the Ballarat Magistrates Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to a number of charges, including driving an unregistered vehicle in a toll zone.
The court heard Davison had $20,314 worth of fines outstanding, which were mostly accumulated during 2011.
These included eight unpaid tolls, 17 fines for driving unregistered vehicles, fines for obscuring number plates, a parking fine and even a council fine for “dog at large”.
Defence lawyer Hamish Locke submitted his client should not go to prison for the outstanding debt.
“They are petty offences ... prison is an option of last resort,” he said.
Mr Locke said Davison was a full-time carer for his partner and had limited means to pay back the fines or get a vehicle registered.
“Ordinarily, when he gets fines he converts them to community work,” he said.
“But he started to accumulate so many that they got out of hand ... the sheriff told him (that amount) can’t be converted to community work.”
Mr Locke submitted a jail term would also significantly disadvantage Davison’s partner, who relies on him for day-to-day needs.
Magistrate Frank Jones discharged a large portion of the debt, leaving only $6780, and granted a six-month stay on the remainder.
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