A SUSPECTED drink-driver pretended to be unconscious after being taken to the police station to provide a breath sample.
Alisha Johnston, 25, came to the attention of police while driving a Ford C-Max vehicle on Clints Brow in Egremont on June 1.
Officers followed the vehicle and felt the manner of driving fell below that of a competent driver, Workington Magistrates’ Court heard.
Pamela Fee, prosecuting, said the vehicle was travelling at 30mph in a 60mph limit when it was safe to drive at the speed limit. She was swerving in the road.
Police suspected that Johnston was driving while under the influence of drink or drugs and the vehicle was stopped on Jacktrees Road in Cleator Moor.
Officers requested a sample of breath and Johnston replied, “yes, I’m drunk, so you don’t need to”.
Johnston provided a specimen of breath at the roadside which gave a reading of 44mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.
The defendant was arrested and taken to the police station. While on the way there, she was communicating well with officers.
But on arrival, she pretended to be unconscious and didn’t respond to anything that was said to her. Officers had to carry her into the police station and she tried to dig her heels in.
Once inside, she refused to stand up and was slumped against the wall. Officers asked for her to be checked over. It was thought that she was ‘acting’.
During the breathalyse procedure, she was lying on the floor, ‘acting as though she was unconscious’. She didn’t respond to any questions asked of her.
A probation officer told the court that Johnston was currently homeless and was staying between properties.
Prior to the offence taking place, Johnston had received a call from her sister who had been at a party and felt ‘unsafe’. The defendant had ‘taken a chance’ and the failure to provide had not been deliberate, the court was told.
Mike Woolaghan, defending, said: “She had been out with other people that night. She had been suffering with a bad back. She was given painkilling medication which may well have affected her behaviour at the time.”
Mr Woolaghan said the defendant may not have been over the limit by the time she was breathalysed at the police station and now faced a longer ban.
Johnston pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis, using a motor vehicle without insurance and driving a motor vehicle other than in accordance with a licence.
Magistrates imposed an 18-month driving ban, to be reduced by 18 weeks, if the defendant completes the drink-drivers’ rehabilitation course.
Johnston, care of Victoria Street, Cleator Moor, was also given a 12-month community order with 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
She was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
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