The actions of a man whose maniacal driving left a trail of destruction — including two dead sheep — in his wake have left a judge dumbfounded.
Jesse Andrew Moore (20), of Roxburgh, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving when he appeared in the Alexandra District Court yesterday.
Judge Dominic Flatley said the offending ‘‘defies belief’’.
In the early hours of December 21, the court heard, the defendant was driving home from Beaumont with a friend.
Moore drove erratically, swinging around corners and ‘‘making sharp turning manoeuvres’’, prosecutor Sergeant Ian Collin said.
When they arrived at the power station, Moore deliberately reversed into a gate, causing considerable damage.
Then he upped the ante: he drove on to the Clutha Gold Trail, a route not designed for vehicles.
Moore mowed down several sheep, two of which died.
Sgt Collin said the defendant made no attempt to slow down or check the welfare of the animals.
Next, Moore slammed into a wheelie bin and shunted a van into a shed before continuing the wild ride.
He mounted grass verges, destroyed a fruit stall and hit another bin at such speed that it disintegrated and the bottles inside smashed all over the road.
The defendant later handed himself in to police and said he was ‘‘very very sorry’’.
Sgt Collin said the farmer whose sheep were killed was not seeking reparation, but the prosecutor suggested a restorative justice meeting might be useful.
Judge Flatley agreed.
‘‘You have to start thinking long and hard how you’re going to explain to these people why you did what you did,’’ he said.
“I don’t understand it. I don’t know what you’ve been watching on TV.”
Moore will be sentenced next month.
