A MOUNT Clear man has avoided jail this afternoon, after he faced court over a string of driving charges, including three drink driving offences in less than three months.
Damian Scott Gallagher, 22, pleaded guilty to 10 charges in Ballarat Magistrates Court earlier today, including driving whilst disqualified, refusing a breath test and exceeding the prescribed concentration of alcohol.
The court heard that police picked up Gallagher five times for driving offences between June last year and January this year.
On the second occasion the P-plater was intercepted by police on Main Road in Ballarat, where he recorded a blood alcohol content of 0.079.
Six weeks later he blew 0.091 after being caught pulling his car into a service station on Humffray Street about 2.30am.
Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Pepe Brown said that last New Year’s Eve Gallagher was again intercepted while driving.
Police officers observed him to smell of alcohol, be unsteady on his feet and slurring his words, but Gallagher refused to breath-tested.
On each occasion he was unlicensed or driving whilst disqualified.
Defence lawyer David Eldridge urged the court not to jail his client, describing Gallagher’s actions as “a discreet series of offending behaviours”.
“It’s puzzling that a person would drive like that knowing he was unlicensed,” Mr Eldridge said.
“But they weren’t long journeys, they weren’t particularly necessary journeys ... and in the end he was caught by police.
“In each of those matters it wasn’t his manner of driving that caught police attention.”
Magistrate Peter Couzens gave Gallagher a three month sentence, suspended for 24 months, and a 12-month community corrections order.
Gallagher was disqualified from driving for four years and fined $200.