Co Antrim drink driver failed to stop at police checkpoint
A drink driving offence came to light after a motorist failed to stop at a police checkpoint.
He had been driving at Belfast Road, Antrim, at 1.40am on May 2 this year.
Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena, was told a car approached a police checkpoint. An officer stepped out onto the road and signalled for the vehicle to stop.
The car slowed but then drove on. Police followed and stopped the car a short distance away, a prosecutor said.
The defendant, Arnold Mupani (51), of Tobergill Gardens in Antrim town, was not wearing a seat belt.
He smelt of alcohol and had glazed eyes. He had an alcohol in breath reading of 79 - the legal limit is 35.
A defence barrister said the defendant, a nurse, attended a friend's house after work and alcohol was consumed. He could not get taxi and decided to drive home.
He said the defendant was "looking for a safe place to park and was not actually looking to avoid police".
He admitted charges of driving with excess alcohol, failing to comply with a direction given by a police officer, and failing to wear a seat belt.
He was banned from driving for 13 months and was fined £420.