A 29-year-old man was found with twice the legal amount of alcohol in his system after he crashed his motorbike in Warrenheip earlier this year.
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The Ballarat Magistrates’ Court heard William Goudappel was flung from his motorbike after driving straight through a bend on Ti Tree Road and crashing into a post on March 12.
Goudappel, who was driving on a suspended licence at the time, was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with a number of serious injuries including a broken hip and ruptured liver.
Goudappel’s blood was tested at the hospital which indicated a blood alcohol reading of 0.109, but the court heard it could have been almost 0.144 at the time of the crash.
He told police he was not sure why he was driving.
His lawyer, Andrew Madden, told the court his client understood he could have killed himself or worse, someone else.
If ever a lesson to be learned, he said it was now.
Magistrate Ronald Saines warned Goudappel he would finish up serving time if he got behind the wheel intoxicated again.
He convicted and fined the 29-year-old $2500.
Goudappel’s licence was cancelled and he was disqualified from driving for a year.
Jail for Ballarat man who continued to drink alcohol against court orders
A Ballarat man who was banned by the courts from drinking alcohol has been jailed for breaching the order.
Michael Cole appeared in the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to four charges including two breaches of bail.
The court heard Cole was released on bail in August with conditions to stay away from the refreshment room at the Ballarat Railway Station, and later in October with conditions not to drink alcohol.
He breached both conditions within two days of each other in November.
The court heard Cole attended a Ballarat bottle shop on November 18, where he put $10 on the counter and demanded a bottle of wine.
When he was told he was banned from the store, he threatened staff he would come back and rob them before taking off with a $7 bottle of wine.
Two days earlier he also attempted to enter the refreshment room at the train station.
His lawyer, Manny Brennan, said the context of the offending related to alcohol.
Mr Brennan told the court his client, who had spent three days in custody, turned to alcohol after the breakdown of his marriage which resulted in him becoming homeless.
But he conceded the alcohol use did not excuse Cole’s behaviour.
Urging the magistrate to consider sentencing Cole to time served, Mr Brennan added Cole had made significant attempts to deal with his mental health and issues with alcohol.
Magistrate Ronald Saines said while there was every reason to jail Cole, it did not address all issues.
He had Cole assessed for an alcohol treatment program, but when the assessment came back unsuitable he told Cole the court had no other option but to impose a term of imprisonment.
Cole was jailed for two months - one month for the breaches of bail and one month on the remaining two charges.