A man who was banned from driving for two years after returning a high level reading, was spotted by police driving on a number of separate occasions while disqualified, and when he was pulled over, he told them he was his twin brother.
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Drew John Tyson, a 42-year-old man, pleaded guilty in the Launceston Magistrates Court to perverting justice, driving a motor vehicle while over the prescribed alcohol limit, and driving while disqualified
Police prosecutor Dave Mathieson said on January 23, 2022, at about 11.30pm, police intercepted Tyson for a random breath test, and conducted a blood test.
The analysis returned a reading of 0.178 grams of alcohol, and as a result, he was banned from driving for 24 months. The court was also told that five days earlier, Tyson's licence had expired.
On Thursday April 28, 2022 at about 10.50am, police intercepted a vehicle in Deloraine which was being driven by Tyson and asked to see his licence.
When police questioned the driver of the vehicle, Tyson, did not provide a driver licence and told police that his name was Joel, the name of his twin brother.
Police conducted checks on the defendant and confirmed the existence of a man who had the same date of birth as the man they were speaking to.
On May 13, 2022, police attended the home of Tyson's father as the vehicle that was being driven at the time belonged to Tyson's father and asked if they were able to speak to Joel.
Tyson's dad told police that there was no way it could have been Joel who was driving the vehicle, and when he was shown footage from the incident, he identified the driver of the vehicle as Drew.
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On June 8, 2022 at about 6.30pm, police spotted Tyson leaving the Westbury Hotel in a vehicle and intercepted him on the Bass Highway and undertook a breath test.
When he was asked about his identification, he told police that he was his twin brother again, and became agitated with police and continued to argue his name was Joel.
Mr Mathieson said Tyson reluctantly went back to the police station and returned a positive reading of 0.055. When he was showed video evidence of the incident which took place in May, he continued to deny it was him and said that the man shown on the footage was his twin brother.
Tyson's solicitor, Grant Tucker, told the court his client was a horse breaker who was based between WA and Tasmania.
In regards to the incident in January, he said his client simply overlooked the fact that his licence had expired and that he was pulled over on the day he went to the aces.
"He went to the pub and got caught up with friends and consumed more alcohol than he intended to," Mr Tucker said.
Mr Tucker told the court that he told police that he was his twin brother, because he panicked and did not realise how serious the crime was at the time.
Tyson will be sentenced on November 8.
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Satria Dyer-Darmawan
Satria Dyer-Darmawan is a journalist for The Examiner and considers himself to be an all rounder. Originally from the Central Coast of NSW, Satria has worked in Alice Springs and North Queensland and isn't afraid to immerse himself in regional communities.
Satria Dyer-Darmawan is a journalist for The Examiner and considers himself to be an all rounder. Originally from the Central Coast of NSW, Satria has worked in Alice Springs and North Queensland and isn't afraid to immerse himself in regional communities.
