Drunk driver pulled over doing 165 km/hour
Jeffrey Matthew Ballard, 55, of Fredericton, had 2½ times legal limit in system
A judge fined a Fredericton man Monday after hearing he was speeding with more than double the legal limit of booze in his system, but he also ordered him to undergo counselling for alcohol issues.
Jeffrey Matthew Ballard, 55, of Emmerson Court, appeared in Fredericton provincial court Monday, accompanied by defence counsel Spencer MacInnis, to answer to impaired-driving allegations.
He pleaded guilty to having a blood-alcohol level in excess of the legal limit within two hours of driving.
Crown prosecutor Christopher Lavigne said on Sept. 17, a Fredericton Police Force officer was on patrol along the Vanier Highway when he noticed a vehicle approaching at a high rate of speed.
The officer clocked the 2019 Ford Mustang travelling at 165 kilometres per hour in a 110 km/hour zone, he said, so he pulled it over, discovering Ballard as the sole occupant of the car.
Ballard struggled to produce the relevant documents when asked, court heard, and he told the officer he’d had a drink three hours prior.
Lavigne said there was a four-pack of alcoholic beverages on the floor of the car, and the officer noticed one was missing, so he administered a roadside screening for alcohol, which the defendant failed.
A subsequent breathalyzer test at the city police station revealed his blood-alcohol level to be 200 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, the prosecutor said.
The legal limit is 80 mg.
Lavigne, noting that Ballard had no prior criminal record, said the minimum fine in light of the elevated reading would be $2,000, and he sought that as a penalty, as well as the required minimum driving prohibition of a year.
But the prosecutor also suggested a year of probation, arguing that the offender’s minimal signs of impairment but significantly high blood-alcohol content suggested there might be an alcohol issue at play with which he could use some help.
“He’s been attending AA monthly,” MacInnis said, noting her client has already taken steps to get that help.
He also finds regular church attendance to be helpful, she said, arguing a probation order probably wasn’t necessary given Ballard’s active work on his alcohol issue.
The defence lawyer said probation might also interfere with greater priorities in her client’s life, noting Ballard recently got diagnoses of prostate cancer and diabetes for which he’s getting treatment.
“Mr. Ballard does work full-time,” MacInnis said.
She also said her client was ticketed for speeding, and he paid the fine already.
Judge Scott Brittain imposed the $2,000 and an additional $600 victim-fine surcharge, as well as a one-year driving ban.
In light of the breathalyzer result - “2½ times the legal limit” - the judge agreed a term of probation would be beneficial to Ballard.
He imposed a one-year term, during which the offender is to attend any counselling sessions or course of treatment for his alcohol issue as directed by his probation officer.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.