Enniskillen Court House, RMGFH04
A DRIVER who failed to provide a breath specimen when arrested on suspicion of drink driving has been banned from driving for five years and ordered to undertake community service.
Dariusz Telejko (44) of Carrowshee Park in Lisnaskea, who had two previous drink driving convictions, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday.
Shortly before 6pm on September 6 police operating a mobile patrol on the A4 Belfast Road, while travelling towards Lisbellaw, noticed a Ford Focus pulled on the carriageway in the opposite direction.
They could see Telejko working on his window wipers, and the driver’s door was opened.
Police stopped and shouted at the defendant to move his car from the carriageway to avoid a collision. Telejko looked over at them, and appeared unsteady on his feet.
The officers then turned their car, but when they came back around Telejko had driven off in the direction of Maguiresbridge.
The officers signalled for Telejko, a married father-of-two, to stop, which he did a short time later. They immediately noticed a smell of alcohol when speaking with the defendant, and that his speech was slurred.
Telejko refused a roadside breath test and was arrested. When brought to Enniskillen Police Station he also refused to provide a breath sample of an evidential reading.
When cautioned for the offence of failing to provide a specimen Telejko said he had been trying to fix his wipers which had broken, and that he hadn’t given a breath reading because he was nervous and wanted to go home.
Defence solicitor Garry Smyth said Telejko was a qualified baker and had worked as a baker in his native Poland before moving here nine years ago.
He said he’d been working here for seven years, but was currently unemployed and had been in Enniskillen seeking work on the day he was detected.
Mr Smyth added Telejko’s wife did not work, and the loss of his licence would cause difficulty for the family.
With regard to not giving a specimen, Mr Smyth said “language barriers may have had something to do with it” at the police station, stating Telejko may have misunderstood what the translator had told him, but said ultimately the defendant accepted responsibility for not providing a breath sample.
District Judge Nigel Broderick said there were two aggravating factors in the case, the fact Telejko did not provide a specimen, and this was his third drink driving related conviction since 2008.
Judge Broderick disqualified Telejko from driving for five years, until retested, and ordered him to complete 120 hours community service.
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