City cops had little trouble nabbing a motorist who blew through a stop sign in the city's west end in the early hours of July 4.
The officers were right behind Lucas Noonan's vehicle when he ignored the sign as he made his way along Henrietta Avenue.
It was shortly before 4 a.m., and they stopped the 25-year-old in a convenience store parking lot, a judge heard Wednesday.
"Sweat was dripping from his forehead" and there was "a strong odour of alcohol in the vehicle," prosecutor Karen Pritchard said.
He had to be asked twice for his driver's licence.
Noonan "wanted to surrender a Visa card" because he thought it was his licence, she told Ontario Court Justice John Condon.
"His speech was heavily slurred" and he had difficulty pronouncing words, the assistant Crown attorney said.
Two Captain Morgan liquor bottles, both with no caps, were in the back seat.
He was arrested, and recorded breath sample readings of 160 and 150 milligrams of alcohol in a 100 milllilitres in blood.
Noonan pleaded guilty to over 80.
The Crown and defence lawyer Anthony Orazietti jointly called for the minimum $1,500 fine, plus a one-year driving prohibition.
His client has no criminal record and is a contributing member of society, he said.
Noonan was employed but was recently laid off and is waiting to be called back to work.
When he imposed the sentence, Condon told the young man that at age 25 there never has been a time that he hasn't heard drinking and driving is not a good combination.
There are consequences and "you now have a criminal record which complicates your life," the judge said
"Don't complicate your life more by driving during the prohibition," he warned Noonan.