‘Couple of beers’ and scooter ride leads to jail

KIM WATERS
AN unlicensed Moolap man who had a few beers before taking his new motorised scooter for a spin will spend a month in jail, a magistrate ruled this week.
Thirty-year-old Jason Willis fronted Geelong Magistrates Court on Wednesday to answer charges of driving with a suspended licence and driving while exceeding his prescribed blood-alcohol concentration of zero per cent.
Geelong Police Senior Constable Angela Avery told the court officers intercepted Willis on the Vmoto Monaco scooter at 7.30pm on September 10.
Snr Const Avery said Willis had an alcohol reading of .021.
He admitted to drinking “two cans of beer”.
Police enquiries established that Willis had a disqualified licence from a prior conviction.
Lawyer Adrian Paul, for Willis, said his client made a “stupid decision…one he will pay for dearly”.
Mr Paul told the court Willis decided to take the new scooter out because it was a “nice night for a ride” and he was “bored”.
Willis had left his job as a car spray painter after losing his licence in January for driving under the influence, Mr Paul said.
He told the court his client’s “poor judgement…reared its head again” when he was caught in the possession of cannabis and a knife.
Magistrate Michael Coghlan told Willis he would “eventually wake up…and realise it’s not worth it”.
He said Willis had chosen to “break a deal” with a previous magistrate when he drove the scooter “about three weeks after receiving a suspended sentence…for driving with a disqualified licence”.
“Nice night for a one-month imprisonment,” Mr Coghlan said.
He convicted and fined Willis $300, disqualified his licence for a year and ordered that he serve his prison term concurrently with his restored one-month suspended sentence.