Christian Maheshe, 24, of Kialla, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to drink driving and failing to display his P-plates.
Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Fiona Kennedy told the court Maheshe recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.160 after he was stopped by police in Wilmot Rd, Shepparton, at 4.34am on June 20, 2020.
This was despite him having to have a blood alcohol concentration of 0.00, as he was a P-plater.
He also had a green P-plate on the front of his vehicle — despite being a red P-plater — and no P-plate on the rear of the vehicle.
He was immediately suspended from driving.
Maheshe told police at the time he “had to pick up a few mates” and had not checked the P-plates on his car, Leading Sen Constable Kennedy said.
Maheshe’s solicitor Shana McDonald told the court her client, an apprentice plasterer, had not had any prior convictions for driving offences and no offences had been recorded since.
She said he had not driven since that time.
Magistrate Peter Mithen fined Maheshe $500 and disqualified him from driving for 16 months — backdated to when the offence occurred.
No conviction was recorded.
“That’s a fairly sizeable reading, 0.160, and you’re on your P-plates so you’re meant to be 0.00,” Mr Mithen said.
“The chances of having an accident are very acute.”
