Jail for road madness

By Tania Martin
A MONBULK man’s appeal for a lighter sentence following ‘20 minutes of madness’ on hills roads has failed.
Christopher Dodd, 37, was found guilty of dangerous driving causing serious injury and leaving the scene of an accident in March this year.
He was sentenced to seven months’ jail without parol but he appealed the decision, saying his business wouldn’t survive without him.
However, County Court Judge John Nixon said Magistrate Nunzio La Rose had ‘got it right’.
Last Tuesday (15 June) he dismissed Dodd’s appeal and reimposed the sentence.
Prosecutor Fran Dalziel last week recounted the events of 19 March last year that left a motorcyclist with permanent damage to his leg.
She told the court how Dodd was seen driving dangerously through the back streets of Belgrave before turning onto Monbulk Road.
He hit a motorcyclist, cutting the man’s leg on a jagged edge of his car.
The court heard how Dodd then continued on to Monbulk where he was seen tailgating several drivers.
Ms Dalziel said police later attended his residence in Monbulk and discovered pieces of flesh and blood on the left rear quarter panel of Dodd’s vehicle.
Defence counsel Rob Devolle said Dodd had just discovered his partner of some years had been having a ‘clandestine’ relationship with another man. Mr Devolle said this sent Dodd over the edge into 20 minutes of very unfortunate behaviour.
“Dodd has accepted his behaviour was outrageous in the extreme but had since shown remorse,” he said.
Mr Devolle said sending the defendant to prison would have a detrimental on his Upwey tattoo business and called for the judge to impose an Intensive Corrections Order (ICO).
But Judge Dixon said Dodd had the business at the time of the offence and had received a number of ICO sentences for prior offences which hadn’t resulted in a change of behaviour.
“Does the community really have to put up with this type of behaviour,” he said.
Ms Dalziel said there was no reason why Dodd’s business couldn’t continue to thrive while he served out his sentence
“There is no indication that someone couldn’t come in to help out,” she said
Judge Nixon said Dodd’s behaviour could only be described as ‘disgraceful’.
“You consumed alcohol, 10 Valium, got behind the wheel of a car and drove in the manner described. You struck a motorcyclist and failed to stop after the accident,” he said
He said the court needed to emphasis the seriousness of the offence.
Dodd’s previous concurrent sentences of nine months’ jail with a minimum of four for the dangerous driving charge, and 15 months with a minimum of seven months for leaving the accident have been reimposed.
His licence was also suspended for two years.