A suspected drink driver who refused to do a breath test has been banned from the roads for nine months and fined £500.
John Albert Ullger, 59, of City Mill Lane, pleaded guilty to Failing to Provide a Specimen at the Magistrates’ Court this morning.
The court heard that just after midnight on Monday 15 July, following the UEFA Euro Spain and England final, Response Team officers spotted Ullger’s car near Cathedral Square after it almost collided into the rear of a vehicle ahead.
Officers signalled Ullger to pull over and once they began speaking to him, they noticed that he smelt of alcoholic drink and that his speech was incoherent and slurred.
He claimed he had not drank any alcohol and then refused to blow on the road side breath test. He was then arrested on suspicion of driving a motor vehicle whilst over the prescribed limit.
At New Mole House, he also refused to give an evidential sample of breath in custody. He was later charged with Failing to Provide a Specimen.
Another local man who was banned from the roads last week was Manuel Bear, 66, who was disqualified for nine months and fined £300.
Bear, of Witham’s Road, pleaded guilty to Driving a Motor Vehicle with Alcohol Concentration over the Prescribed Limit.
The court heard that at around 1am on Monday 15 July, officers were patrolling Rosia Road, when they saw a Yamaha motorcycle swerving from side to side, before losing control and colliding with the pavement, as it attempted to turn left into Witham’s Road near GBC headquarters.
As officers got out of the car to check on the welfare of the man, they could smell alcoholic drink. A road side breath test gave a reading of 61ug – the legal limit is 35ug. He was arrested and at New Mole House Police Station he gave a reading of 53ug on the evidential breath test machine.
And also in the courts last week, Ayden Buckley, 19, of Laguna Estate, was fined £200 and given six points on his licence, after pleading guilty to Driving a Motor Vehicle with Alcohol Concentration Over the Prescribed Limit.
The court heard that at around 6am on Sunday the 28 July, Response Team officers stopped Buckley on his motorcycle, after they saw it travelling at excess speed on Devil’s Tower Road.
On speaking to officers, Buckley confirmed he had been drinking alcohol that evening and then blew 84ug on the road side breath test. He was arrested and taken to New Mole House Police Station, where he later blew 42ug on the evidential breath test machine.
A spokesman for the Royal Gibraltar Police, said: “We’d like to remind drivers that if they get behind the wheel whilst under the influence, they could end up killing themselves or other innocent people.
“You simply cannot combine alcohol and driving. We urge people not to get behind the wheel if intoxicated, to ensure they protect themselves and those around them.”
If anyone has concerns about a person driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs, they can call the RGP in confidence on 200 72500 or 999 in emergencies – you could help save someone’s life.