James Rowley, 30, of Lower Pollet, St Peter Port, admitted the drink-drive offence when he appeared in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
He was sent to prison for two months, and banned from driving for four-and-a-half years.
‘An aggravating factor in this case is that you diverted emergency services’ resources during an island-wide emergency,’ said Judge Gary Perry.
Prosecuting, Advocate Liam Roffey told the court how the incident had happened at 10.15pm on Thursday 8 January this year, when a major incident had been declared due to the weather.
Two police officers who were on their way to reports of a potential burglary were diverted to Rohais de Bas, St Andrew’s, to deal with a single vehicle road accident. They found the defendant’s car extensively damaged at the bottom of the Rohais. Rowley was one of two men on the pavement nearby and he admitted being the driver.
Officers found him difficult to communicate with due to his level of intoxication and he failed a roadside breath test.
On being told this, he asked how bad the reading was and ‘how long am I looking at?’
He also said he could have been killed. A breath test at the Police Station following his arrest showed there were 105 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of his breath. The legal limit is 35.
In interview he gave largely no comment responses.
Defending, Advocate Sam Maindonald said her client had long-standing mental health issues. He had been taking his anti-psychotic medication at the time and self-medicating with alcohol. He had been the only person in the car, she said.
His last appearance before a court was in February 2024. She urged the court to follow the recommendation of the Probation Service and impose a community service order.
Judge Gary Perry said he had stated numerous times recently that Guernsey had suddenly had a problem with drink-drivers with high alcohol level readings, and some had been involved in accidents. The defendant’s offending came after warnings given to him previously.
‘If anything, your case is worse than that of some people who I have dealt with and already sent to prison and I have to be consistent,’ he said.
A police spokesman said: ‘Events such as Storm Goretti see officers work extremely hard to protect the community and respond to incidents in difficult circumstances. This individual’s actions saw officers and other emergency responders have to deploy into dangerous conditions and put themselves at risk to clear the road and ensure those involved were treated and looked after.’