Drink-driver jailed after 13 years

By Whitney Harris
Updated November 7 2012 - 2:24am, first published July 9 2010 - 12:27pm

AN Eaglehawk man has been sentenced to six months’ jail for a crime he committed 13 years ago.In 1997, James Sparkes, 49, was caught drink-driving in Mildura. At the time, police saw he was unsteady on his feet, smelt strongly of alcohol and was slurring his words.He blew three times the legal limit and was also found to be driving during a period of disqualification. He was charged on summons, but failed to show up at court and a warrant for his arrest was issued.One month later, Sparkes was sentenced in his absence to two months’ jail for a separate drink-driving offence.This time the magistrate issued a warrant for his imprisonment. Both warrants were honoured on Thursday afternoon when police in Bendigo, who were conducting random warrant checks, arrested Sparkes and took him into custody.He appeared in the Bendigo Magistrates Court yesterday, where he pleaded guilty to the drink-driving and disqualified driving charges. Senior Constable Len Ladner, prosecuting, told the court that Sparkes had since racked up a series of criminal offences in South Australia, NSW and Tasmania.However, defence lawyer Clare Vierboom said that after being released from a South Australian jail in 2007, Sparkes moved to Bendigo to be closer to his family.She said he had straightened out his life and had not come to the attention of police since the move.Ms Vierboom asked the court to suspend any further jail sentence so that Sparkes could apply for a rehearing of the charges to which he was sentenced in his absence.Magistrate Bruce Cottrill was satisfied that Sparkes had made efforts to turn his life around, but needed something hanging over him to ensure he maintained his rehabilitation.He sentenced Sparkes to six months’ jail, with four months suspended for one year. Sparkes will serve the two-month term concurrently with the previous drink-driving sentence.

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