A Paisley man has been fined more than £1000 after claiming his neighbour told cops he was drink-driving.
Ross McEwan, 32, was shocked to find police officers at his door in the early hours of December 23, 2021, asking him to provide a breath sample to determine the alcohol proportion in his system.
McEwan, of Clydesdale Avenue, failed to tell cops the driver of his car and refused to provide a breath sample for analysis, claiming he hadn’t been drink-driving.
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Prosecutor Jason Stark told Paisley Sheriff Court: “Around 3.20am PC Kane and O’Neill traced the accused at his home address.
“Officers noted he smelt strongly of alcohol, his speech was slurred and that he was stumbling.
“At 3.25am the accused was asked to identify the driver of a vehicle and he refused.
“At 3.27am PC Kane asked the accused to provide a specimen of breath and he refused and failed to provide a reasonable excuse.
“He was cautioned at common law and was placed under arrest and taken to Greenock police station.
“While in custody he did comply with an additional request an was cautioned and charged.”
McEwan’s defence agent, Richard Freeman told the court he was “flabbergasted” when police officers turned up at his door “in the middle of the night.”
Mr Freeman explained: “This is a man who has never been in any trouble before, has been driving since he was 18, has no points on his licence and this was the first time he had any dealings with the police.
“The police came to the door in the middle of the night to know who had been driving his car.
“He said the whole thing was ludicrous as he hadn’t been doing anything and he certainly hadn’t been drink-driving.
“He says that the neighbour of his mother, where there’s an ongoing neighbour dispute made an allegation to the police which he maintains is false.
“It is his view that the neighbour was the source of information that he was in his car driving.
“He was flabbergasted by police coming to the door.”
Mr Freeman told how the joiner relies on his licence for his employment and explained that McEwan was “fully cooperative” with cops once he was at the police station.
Sheriff Suhkwinder Gill said: “You’re a man with no previous convictions, and you have no points on your license.”
Sheriff Gill endorsed six penalty points and imposed a total fine of £1155 and ordered this to be paid at the rate of £120 per month.
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