Jack Langton: Cherbourg man’s jail sentence for fleeing police RBT

A South Burnett father’s decision to flee from police due to fears he might have been over the alcohol limit only made matters worse, with the man now faced with jail time. Full story:

A routine traffic stop for a breath test ended up with a man spending more than a month in a jail cell, after he put his foot to the floor and sped away from police.

Officers patrolling near Cherbourg first spotted Jack Langton’s car pulling out from forestry onto Old Cherbourg Rd at about 4am on February 20.

Police prosecutor Sean Franklin told the Murgon Magistrates Court that Langton’s vehicle was “swaying from one side of the road to another”.

When police activated their lights, Langton’s vehicle accelerated and continued to speed away from officers for close to a minute before the 36-year-old finally pulled into a street and stopped.

Langton confessed to police that he hadn’t stopped immediately as he had been drinking alcohol earlier that night.

Police then told him he was detained for a roadside breath test, which prompted Langton to put his car keys back into the ignition and flee the scene once again, despite officers banging on the car and warning him to stop.

Langton’s movements were able to be tracked for a brief period using CCTV footage, but eventually lost him.

The Cherbourg man went to the watch-house several weeks later on March 6, where he was questioned over and eventually charged over the incident, of which he claimed to have no memory.

He was on parole at the time of the offending and spent the 59 days leading up to his court appearance in custody.

Langton pleaded guilty to one count of failing to stop.

He was sentenced to the 59 days’ jail already served with immediate eligibility for parole.

Langton was also disqualified from driving for two years.

Originally published as Jack Langton: Cherbourg man’s jail sentence for fleeing police RBT