Judge to decide on Longford drink driving charge

A defendant who contested a charge of failing to provide a sample in connection with an allegation of drink driving will hear the judge’s decision when his case is concluded at Longford District Court on July 19.

Pawel Bocianowski (39) of 8 Dundarach, Dublin Road, Longford was represented in proceedings by barrister Paul Flynn.

Prosecution witness Garda Aidan Lenehan gave evidence of the details around the incident on Friday August 20, 2021 which resulted in his arrest of Mr Bocianowski. At 9:51pm he was on a routine patrol when he observed a white BMW drive into the Dundarach Estate, then swing into the driveway of a house.

Garda Lenehan said he was “aware” of the car as there was an issue regarding illegally tinted windows. The officer pulled the patrol van up near the car and exited his vehicle as the driver, Mr Bocianowski, got out of his.

When Garda Lenehan asked to see the defendant's drivers licence Mr Bocianowski said he did not have it on him, initially challenging the officer saying he did not have a right to be on his property. “He claimed I was on his property, but when I made the demand I was on the path,” the witness said.

Mr Bocianowski went inside his house to get the licence, came out and searched the car before going back into the house. When he returned with the drivers licence Mr Bocianowski had a bottle of Grolsch Beer. “As he was handing me the licence he took a swig of the beer,” the officer said in evidence.

Garda Lenehan said he considered the drinking for a bottle of beer when a Garda asked for a drivers licence as “unusual behaviour”. He believed Mr Bocianowski was endeavouring to frustrate a possible prosecution and that he had something to hide. “I formed the opinion Mr Bocianowski had consumed alcohol when I saw him driving earlier,” Garda Lenehan told the court.

The officer asked Mr Bocianowski for a specimen of breath for a device designed to detect the presence of alcohol at the roadside. He informed him that if had only consumed a small amount of alcohol he would pass the test, and even if he did fail it the station Evidenzer test would give an accurate depiction of the amount of alcohol consumed.

“He informed me he would not do the test. I informed him it was an offence if he failed or refused to comply with my request,” the witness told Judge Bernadette Owens.

Garda Niall Higgins, who was accompanying Garda Lenehan on patrol, got the roadside breath test from the van, however Mr Bocianowski again refused. The defendant was arrested and placed in the rear of the patrol van.

The State witness said before taking Mr Bocianowski to the station he checked and confirmed that illegal tint on the inside of the window. In the Garda station Mr Bocianowski had ‘two false starts’ and was unable to provide a breath sample, so a doctor was called. The sample of blood taken later than night returned a reading of 108/100.

The defendant's barrister, Mr Flynn, applied to Judge Owens for direction on a number of points, The first related to his client being “incapable of being in charge of an MPV”.

Mr Flynn said, “There was zero evidence of an issue with the time of driving, there was nothing in the manner of Mr Bocianowski's driving that attracted the attention of Garda Lenehan, there was no indication of an offence.”

Judge Owens said she would adjourn the matter to July 19 to consider the evidence and make a decision on that date.