A Cromwell man says bystanders cheered him on as he did a "long and sustained" burnout in central Queenstown.
Mark Christopher John McKee, 39, told police he had drunk eight vodkas when they pulled him over about 8pm on September 6.
After hearing the burnout in Stanley St, police had gone immediately to its intersection with Frankton Rd to see a large plume of smoke as McKee did another one.
As he was being breath-tested at the police station, McKee worsened his predicament by damaging fingerprinting equipment.
He was charged with aggravated drink-driving (474mcg), sustained loss of traction and intentional damage.
At a sentencing hearing in the Queenstown District Court yesterday, Judge Russell Walker said McKee had 18 previous convictions, including three for drink-driving.
A pre-sentence report said he had alcohol dependence syndrome.
He told the report writer he kept "going backwards" after periods of doing well in his life.
Judge Walker said the defendant’s driving was "immature and impulsive" and he put other road users at risk, including the bystanders he claimed were egging him on.
He then "made a nuisance" of himself at the police station by damaging equipment.
However, the breath-alcohol reading had been moderate, and he had not been in court for over seven years.
He entered the convictions and sentenced McKee to five months’ community detention and 12 months’ intensive supervision.
He is disqualified from driving until October.
