A Freshwater man who refused to provide a specimen of breath to officers at Newport Police Station, saying he ‘didn’t understand what he was being asked to do’, has seen his case adjourned at the courts. Benjamin Mercer, 34, of Colwell Lane in Freshwater, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis when he appeared at the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court on Tuesday (9th January). Prosecutor Liz Miller told the court that on 17th December 2023, Mercer was seen by a member of the public staggering away from his car in Newport Town Centre. Having been alerted to the situation, Police waited for the 34-year-old to return to his vehicle before they pulled him over a short while later. The court heard how the officer in question noticed that Mercer was visibly drunk and smelt of intoxicating liquor. A breath test was conducted at the roadside – after Mercer had initially failed to complete the procedure – in which a reading of 120 was returned. The legal limit is 35. Subsequently, Mercer was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and taken to Newport Police Station. It was here that he failed to complete a breath test, firstly refusing to blow into the machine and then saying he was unsure of what he was being asked to do. Mercer was previously convicted of driving with excess alcohol in his system back in 2016 meaning he is liable for a mandatory 3-year driving ban when he is sentenced. Defending, Michael McGoldrick told the court that his client accepts that he didn’t provide a specimen, adding that he was clearly impaired at the time of the offence. He added that Mercer was going through a difficult time in his personal life. Magistrates adjourned the case for an ‘all options’ pre-sentence report to be compiled.
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So to put it simply either he was playing games and knew exactly what he was doing, or he was too drunk to understand.
Second time DUI so he needs locking up to sober up and then banning for life
Too many excuses, bang him up before he kills an innocent
person.
Always struggling with their personal life when they get busted!
He clearly didn’t understand as he was totally pis–d….
Hus solicitor said he was going through a difficult time in life ??????
No excuse life can be difficult for us all ,but it how we choose to deal with it ………
A year inside will help him think about how to deal with his difficult time in life…
The man is a p***k anyway. Should be banned from driving for life, to be honest he should be banned from life.
Bet you won’t say it to him keyboard warrior
Many years ago there was the village stocks where people could throw rotten tomatoes at thieves. Do you think the thieves would go around to everybody’s houses afterwards and sort them out.?
Nasty people know that they are nasty people, they know that they are hated, can you imagine if this man had a son who followed in his father’s footsteps and terrorised the neighbourhood, oh wait… I have often commented on here that those that get in trouble should be sterilised, along with the entire family but I get shouted at. Here is a definite example of why I’m right again to make the island a safer nicer place.
Being back the village stocks ~ Power to the people
Massive Keyboard Warrior or Wan*er. Full of radical opinions, but only has an audience of less than <5 people. Nobody gives a toss about your ‘online’ opinion.
You sound like his daddy.?
I am not here for ‘likes’. I am here to put my views across in a comment. If people like them or dislike them or don’t even bother thumbing it up and down, then it is no concern to me.
Can you imagine how safe the island would be without repeat drink driving or local feral youths.?
It would be a wondrous place.
Some families need to be removed from the gene pool, the recent Freshwater news stories on Island Echo are proof of this.
Pathetic. You are a moron of the highest calibre. You are here advocating murdering entire families based on one or two of them comitting petty crime? Like I said before, you are worse than those you want to ‘remove’.
2nd time around, ban him for life. The government want us to leave our cars at home anyway.. there are plenty of alternatives.
For the Health and Safety of the public he should receive a lifetime ban. He was just a bit tipsy he was absolutely wrecked.