Kerry James McIvor, 39, was stopped in the township about 5.30pm on August 8 after police received a complaint about his driving from a member of the public.
Showing signs of alcohol consumption, he gave a blood specimen that returned a result of 120mg. The legal limit is 50mg.
McIvor had been drinking with workmates when the colleague he thought would drive him home had to leave early, the Queenstown District Court heard last week.
However, he was disqualified from driving, and serving a sentence of community work and supervision, after being convicted last year on charges of refusing to give a blood specimen and refusing to accompany a police officer in 2022.
Defence counsel DeAnne Nicoloso said McIvor would normally have asked his ex-wife to pick him up, but he had been using her car while his own was at the garage.
"He made the wrong decision to drive ... he should never have done that."
The defendant had a drinking problem that stemmed from the failure of his building company in 2024, Ms Nicoloso said.
"Things took a real dive for him ... he became bankrupt and his marriage dissolved.
"He was a lost man — hence the drinking."
He accepted he had a drinking problem, and had been getting counselling to address it.
Judge Russell Walker said as well as his convictions last year, McIvor had drink-driving convictions in 2017 and 2007.
He also had a poor demerit history, which included 18 speeding offences and four licence suspensions.
Noting the defendant still had 129 hours’ community work outstanding from his 2025 offending, he warned him he was at risk of breaching his sentence.
He imposed convictions for aggravated drink-driving and disqualified driving, and sentenced McIvor to four months’ community detention, to be served at a Lower Shotover address in Queenstown.
After a 28-day stand-down, McIvor can apply for an alcohol-interlock licence.
