A man who ruined a family farewell by getting drunk and aggressively hugging his girlfriend’s mother explained he was "easily wound up".
Ramon Lee Annan appeared by video link in the Dunedin District Court yesterday, where he was jailed for 20 months for two sets of offences.
The first occurred in December at a party with his partner and her family, which had been arranged because someone was moving to Australia.
After the obligatory photos, the drunken Annan claimed he was going to kill the family.
His girlfriend's mother ordered him to leave the property but later found him in another room.
This prompted another confrontation.
Annan reacted by embracing the woman, and not letting go.
Others had to pull him off and he remained aggressive when police arrived, the court heard.
At the end of March — despite the country being in lockdown — Annan was out driving with a friend in Hillside Rd.
Judge Michael Turner said it was unclear why the pair were out of the house or whether they were part of the same bubble.
When police pulled over the speeding Ford Falcon, they did not have chance to ask.
Annan stopped briefly but took off again before he could be spoken to.
His escape did not last long; he soon failed to negotiate a corner and slammed his friend's car into a lamppost and a tree.
A subsequent breath test gave a reading of 508mcg — more than twice the legal limit.
The woman, who in a statement to the court said she had tried to persuade the defendant to stop before the crash, was left with a bloodied face and torn shoulder ligaments.
She claimed the car was worth $4500 but that was disputed by Annan.
The judge ordered he repay the victim $2500 at $10 a week once released from prison.
The convictions for breaching a protection order, assault, dangerous driving causing injury, aggravated drink-driving and failing to stop for police were a continuation of Annan's anti-social behaviour, Probation said.
When asked to explain his conduct, the defendant simply said he was "easily wound up".
Judge Turner banned Annan from driving for 19 months.
