A man called the “personification” of why roadside breath tests were introduced narrowly avoided a prison sentence in Magistrates’ Court today.

Fabio Barbosa, 32, pleaded guilty to two counts of refusing a breath test and one count of driving while impaired in relation to three separate incidents.

The Pembroke resident also admitted two counts of driving without a valid driver’s licence.

Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe told Barbosa: “You are the poster child for someone who should be locked up.

“You have a problem with drinking and then getting in a vehicle and driving whilst impaired. The rest of the unsuspecting public were lucky that you didn’t cause a serious accident.”

The court heard Barbosa was first arrested on December 1, 2017, after he drove a motorcycle through the scene of a serious accident on South Road in Paget, despite officers attempting to divert him away from the area.

He was later stopped by officers on Southcote Road, where he admitted having “three or four” beers.

Barbosa provided police with a breath sample, which showed a lower reading of 82 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrams.

The defendant was stopped by police again eight days later as officers carried out vehicle checks on South Road in Devonshire.

Barbosa admitted that he didn’t have a driver’s licence for the motorcycle, and officers noticed his breath smelled of alcohol.

But he refused to provide police a breath sample and denied drinking.

Barbosa was arrested a third time in the early hours of New Year’s Day this year, near the junction of Queen Street and Reid Street in Hamilton.

At about 2.40am, officers were conducting roadside sobriety checks in the area when they saw Barbosa approach on a motorcycle.

Instead of going through the checkpoint, Barbosa stopped short.

He parked the bike on the side of the road, despite difficulty placing in on its stand, and began to walk away from the area.

Stopped by the officers, he admitted that he had been drinking and that he did not have a licence.

Barbosa then failed to provide a breath sample, both on the scene and at Hamilton Police Station.

Prosecutor Larissa Burgess said Barbosa was a danger to himself and others on the road and that a prison sentence would be suitable in the circumstances.

But Arion Mapp, duty counsel, argued that an alcohol assessment might be a better option as it was “obvious” Barbosa has an issue with alcohol.

Mr Wolffe told Barbosa: “You are the personification of the reason why the roadside sobriety check points were set up.

“It’s atrocious. Your behaviour, sir, is atrocious.”

The senior magistrate ordered a drug and alcohol assessment on Barbosa and bailed him to observe Drug Treatment Court this week.

He also banned Barbosa from driving all vehicles “until further order from the court”.

Mr Wolffe added: “I was close to imprisoning you for at least 12 months just to show you how serious this is.”

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