A Devonshire man who offered to bet officers he would “get off” when arrested was banned from the road for refusing a breath test.

Jeffrey DeSilva, 31, initially pleaded guilty to a charge of driving while impaired, but later in proceedings vacated that plea in favour of an admission that he refused to provide officers with a breath sample.

The court heard that at around 8.55pm on July 7, an off-duty officer was driving along Crow Lane when he noticed the vehicle in front of him, driven by DeSilva, swerving over the centre line. As he looked on, the vehicle nearly struck a parked truck and collided with the kerb before continuing on to Rural Hill Plaza, where he parked.

There the officer called other police to the scene after spotting DeSilva urinating on a wall.

When on-duty police officers arrived on the scene, they spoke with DeSilva and noticed that his eyes were glazed and that he smelled of alcohol. He admitted drinking that evening, but was “uncooperative and combative” with officers.

Informed he would be arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired, he told officers: “I bet you a month’s salary I get off. I know [lawyer] Justin Williams.”

After pleading guilty in court, he said that the comment was an “empty remark” and he didn’t mean anything by it.

Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe fined DeSilva $1,000 for refusing a breath test, banning him from driving all vehicles for a period of 12 months.

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