A disqualified motorist convicted of drink driving for the third time in five years has escaped jail despite being FIVE times over the limit.
Aurelijus Jurservicius, 31, was handed a suspended sentence - his second for drink driving in two years - despite being told he was a “danger to the public” when behind the wheel.
The self-employed painter and decorator was arrested on April 29 after police spotted a white transit van swerving wildly across lanes and into oncoming traffic on the dual carriageway section of the Dereham Road in Costessey.
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Norwich Magistrates Court heard his lowest breath test reading was 182mg - almost five and half times the legal limit of 35mg.
Lily Orr, prosecuting, said at the time he was still serving a three year ban for drink driving in 2021 which also saw him given a 12 week jail sentence suspended for 12 months.
He had also been disqualified for 28 months after being convicted of drink driving in 2017 after refusing to provide a specimen, the court heard.
Jurservicius, of Dereham Road, Norwich, had previously pleaded guilty to drink driving, driving while disqualified and having no insurance.
Speaking through a Lithuanian interpreter, he said: “I want to express my deep remorse for what I have done and I regret my actions.”
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District Judge David Wilson told him “you placed motorists on that road in significant danger”.
But deciding to suspend a 16 week jail sentence for 18 months, he said it was a “narrow decision” that took into account him receiving treatment for alcohol issues and that he his three employees would otherwise lose their jobs.
“While this is a fine balance I have to consider whether the public interest and the interests of justice are better served with you spending half of the period in prison or with additional protections and punishment to you in the community,” he added.
Banning Jurservicius from driving for four years, he ordered him to do 200 hours unpaid work and made him subject of alcohol monitoring for 120 days.
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