Rider overtakes Police, gets ban

A 38-year-old Paget man was fined $1,000 and disqualified from driving all vehicles after pleading guilty to failing to provide a breath sample for the Police.

Crown counsel Paula Tyndale told Magistrates' Court that on January 27, Keith Grier was riding his motorbike on East Broadway when he overtook a Police car and another car at a very high speed.

Police followed Grier and noted his speed at 80 kph. They were having difficulty getting Grier to stop and had to eventually get in front of him and force him to pull over.

They noticed he was unstable and had trouble putting the motorcycle on its stand and they also noticed he smelled of alcohol.

Police asked him: "Did you not see the bright lights and hear the sirens?" Grier, of Mission Road, said he did not.

He was then arrested and taken to the Hamilton Police station. Grier told the Police that he refused to answer any questions and take a breathalyser test until he talked to his lawyer.

Asked by Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner if he had anything to say, Grier replied: "I exercised my right to refuse the test and to request my lawyer.

"The officer said that I was doing 90 kph and I know my cycle cannot even go that fast, so I asked to see the speedometer and since he refused to let me see it, I exercised my rights and refused to take the test."

Mr. Warner fined him $1,000, disqualified him from driving all vehicles for 12 months and awarded him ten demerit points against his licence.

Victim was aged 93

A man admitted stealing two cheques from a 93-year-old man and trying to cash them, when he appeared in Magistrates' Court .

Perry Hayward, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to dishonestly receiving two bank cheques between February 21 and 26. He also pleaded guilty to using one of the cheques, trying to cash it knowing it was false and attempting to obtain cash on February 26.

The court heard from Senior Crown counsel Paula Tyndale that on February 21, the elderly man was sitting outside his home when he was approached by the defendant who said he knew his son and needed money for gas.

The elderly man went to get his wallet, containing two blank cheques and $20, and when he went to give Hayward $20, he snatched the wallet and ran away.

Police arrested 28-year-old Hayward as he was attempting to cash one of the cheques. Hayward admitted in a taped Police interview that he tried to cash the cheques but denied stealing them saying he had found them.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner ordered a social inquiry and a Bermuda Assessment and Referral Centre (BARC) report before he sentences Hayward on March 27. He was remanded into custody.

Ban for drink driving

A 26-year-old man pleaded guilty to impaired driving when he appeared at Magistrates' Court.

The court heard from Crown counsel Paula Tyndale that on December 23, Police noticed Gordon Brown, of Queen Street, St. George's, stationary and motionless in his car at a traffic light.

When the officers checked to see if he was all right, they noticed he was asleep and there was a smell of alcohol.

Officers noticed Brown's eyes were glazed, his speech was slurred and there was an open beer bottle in the car. He was arrested and taken to Hamilton Police station.

After two breath samples were given, 243 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood was found in his system. The legal limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner disqualified him from driving for ten months, awarded him ten demerit points and fined him $1,000.