Art of tinting Capalaba owner Peter Emery sentenced for driving drunk

A well known Bayside business owner has fronted court after police intercepted him driving to the supermarket with a blood-alcohol level five times over the legal limit.

Art of tinting Capalaba owner Peter Emery sentenced for driving drunk.

A popular Bayside business owner has fronted court after locals called the police after finding him driving five times more than the legal alcohol limit.

Owner of Art of Tinting Capalaba, Peter Geoffrey Michael Emery, 49, pleaded guilty to driving under the influence.

The court heard Emery had been drinking in the evening of March 24, 2024 before deciding to drive to an IGA 500 metres from his Thornlands home.

Police Prosecutor Daniel Agresta said Emery was found by four pedestrians in his vehicle which was facing the opposite way of oncoming traffic.

“His car was stopped in a gutter facing in the wrong direction,” Sergeant Agresta said.

“There were four members of the public who called police as he seemed to be having a medical episode.

“Police arrived to the vehicle at 9.45pm and detected the smell of liquor on his breath,” he said.

Sergeant Agresta said Emery’s blood alcohol analysis revealed a “substantially high” reading of 0.257, more than five times the legal limit.

Sergeant Agresta said it is concerning Emery was on the road after consuming that amount of alcohol.

“The public demands someone to take account for their actions, luckily persons were affected by a crash,” he said.

Emery’s lawyer said he is a father of three children and has a dated and minor criminal history.

“The offence occurred on his first day off (from work) in several weeks,” a lawyer said.

“He is incredibly remorseful and has completed the Queensland Traffic Offenders Program.

“He is involved in various sporting teams for his children’s sport,” she said.

The court heard Emery had been dealing with family related issues at the time of his offending.

Magistrate Kerrie O’Callaghan said Emery clearly made the wrong decision to drive during those circumstances.

“You had a lot of alcohol on board, clearly it was a stressful time and you were self medicating with alcohol,” Ms O’Callaghan said.

“It would appear it was out of character,” she said.

Emery was disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined $1200.

Convictions were recorded.