John Arima: Pakenham man loses driver’s license for four years following incidents
A Pakenham man has copped a huge driving ban after a string of incidents, including crashing a packed car into a power pole while drunk.
South East
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A Pakenham man who has dreams of starting a clothing label will be off the road for four years after a string of driving incidents, including crashing head-on into a power pole while heavily intoxicated.
John Arima, 24, faced Ringwood Magistrates’ Court on June 1 on 12 charges from three incidents from October 2020 to August 2021.
The first incident occurred in Point Cook on October 31, when Arima was pulled over in a silver Mercedes on Fongeo Drive, and police determined he wasn’t carrying the correct driver’s licence, despite him insisting it was him in the one he produced.
Police were set to arrest Arima until he confessed it was his brother’s licence and he instead held a learner’s permit.
In the second incident on January 2, 2021, Arima was driving a Toyota Camry with four passengers on Queens Ave, Doncaster.
He suddenly swerved right to avoid a parked car, crossed onto the opposite side of the road and crashed into a power pole.
Police found Arima was not carrying his learner’s permit and instead had it on his phone.
He was taken to The Royal Melbourne Hospital for treatment for minor injuries.
A blood sample taken while he was in hospital returned a blood alcohol reading of .185, more than three times the legal limit.
In the third incident, Arima was pulled up on Irving Rd, Pakenham, on August 30, 2021, again without his driver’s licence.
Officers discovered Arima had his driver’s licence suspended on July 31 for a one-year period, but in a statement to police, he said he didn’t even know he had been suspended and hadn’t received anything in the mail.
After a preliminary breath test, Constable Brittany Mashado determined Arima had alcohol in his system and requested he undertake a second test at a police station.
Arima refused to accompany officers to the station and walked home.
The court heard Arima was working as a landscaper and travelled by public transport two hours each way to get to work.
His defence lawyer Gemma RossMcGlynn said her client had studied graphic design at Frankston TAFE and was determined to start his own clothing label as a future career.
Ms RossMcGlynn said Arima had been playing a key role assisting his four younger sisters and his mother driving them to appointments and school prior to his licence being suspended.
But Magistrate Marc Sargent said Arima had also been caught drink driving on July 31, which led to his driver’s licence being suspended.
The ban became effective on August 29, a day before Arima was pulled over in Pakenham.
Magistrate Sargent explained that refusing the breath test and being caught drink driving while suspended carried a four-year license suspension under the Roads Safety Act, which he enforced.
“The best I can do is keep it to the minimum of four years … it’s never a good idea to refuse a (breath) test … I’m stuck with that and so are you,” he said.
Magistrate Sargent also fined Arima $1500 and $129.30 in statutory costs, and said VicRoads would require him to undergo a safe driving program before he regained his licence.
