£2,500 fine for crash driver who had to be Tasered

Friday 23 December 2022

A driver who crashed into a parked car, and had to be Tasered when he wouldn’t comply with police orders around a week later, has been fined £2,500 and given a nine-month probation order.

The Magistrate's Court heard yesterday that Christopher Haimes’s car smashed into the vehicle outside a hotel in Gorey some time after 10:15 on 23 October - but the 31-year-old did not report the accident.

And on the afternoon of 2 November he would not move away from a woman's home when told to by police – and had to be Tasered to be arrested.

He pleaded guilty to careless driving, failing to report an accident and refusing to obey the lawful orders of a police officer.

Advocate Simon Crowder, prosecuting, said that the road crash damaged a Dutch tourist's Mazda and shunted it about one metre forward.

A witness had noted part of Haimes's registration number and he was traced by the police.

Then on 2 November the police were called to a woman's house and found Haimes outside.

"He was aggressive and under the influence of alcohol," the advocate said.

"He was confrontational and made a number of threats, saying he would come back to the property when they left and break the door down."

Advocate Crowder said the police told him repeatedly to leave the area but he refused.

He added that as Haimes became aggressive again an officer took out his incapacity spray, but due to strong winds it proved ineffective.

"He used a Taser to take him to the ground and handcuffed him."

The court heard that Haimes had previous convictions for public-order offences and for failing to report an accident. He was assessed as at moderate risk of reoffending.

Advocate Heidi Heath, defending, pointed out that Haimes had immediately pleaded guilty to the charges, and that he had been "in crisis" at the time.

She said: "His relationship had broken down, he had lost his home, and he feared not seeing his child again."

She told the court that Haimes was valued by his employer and said: "He is a different person day to day."

Relief Magistrate Mike O'Connell fined him £1,500 for failing to report an accident and £1,000 for careless driving, allowing him to pay them at the rate of £100 per week.

He also imposed a probation order but said he was choosing not to endorse his licence or disqualify him from driving.

He told Haimes: "You have some history of violence when alcohol is involved.

"If you come back before this court for a similar offence, you can expect to go to prison."

And he urged him to take advantage of help from probation, saying: 'It will give you the opportunity to get back on a good path.

"If you don't you could be on a bad path."