A Southland man who deliberately drove and knocked over several road signs has turned his life around, a court heard.
Michael Charles McCullough (27) appeared by audiovisual link in the Invercargill District Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to one charge of intentional damage in relation to an offence in 2018.
In 2018, McCullough and associates were drinking alcohol while hunting in the Southwood Export forest area.
While driving on Lilburn Valley Rd and Clifden Highway, the defendant ran over several single post road signs.
He was also in the car when one of his associates was driving and damaged several other road signs and a mailbox.
The summary of facts stated in total the defendant was the passenger or the driver when 10 road signs were smashed.
Judge Jim Large highlighted those signs were placed leading into sharper corners and due to those being damaged, anybody driving the road did not have prior warning of the bends.
"He is a young man who [has] done something really stupid." he said.
Counsel Fiona Guy-Kidd QC said her client acknowledged his error and said this incident marked a change in his life.
At the time of the offence, he was 23 and in 2019, about a year after the offending, McCullough decided to move to Australia to remove himself from the lifestyle and influences he was living with, she said.
"This has generated a change in his life and attitude."
She said, since then, he had never offended others, had secured employment and taken responsibility for his mistakes.
Mrs Guy-Kidd highlighted that even though he was not the single driver in the offence, McCullough paid the reparation in full by himself and also voluntarily engaged with the court to deal with this matter.
The judge convicted him and ordered him to pay a $200 fine.
-- LUISA GIRAO
