Need for speed: '100mph' boy racer suspended from driving

Friday 25 November 2016

A man with a "passion" for high-speed power cars was disqualified from driving and sentenced to 180 hours of community service today, after the court was shown videos of his white Nissan Skyline appearing to blaze through St Ouen's Village and down Victoria Avenue at speeds of up to 100mph.

Former air-conditioning engineer Ruben Pacheco (32) was arrested in May 2016 after police identified him via three videos of reckless driving posted to YouTube by a user known as 'RubenPaposeco'.

Although his initial response to caution was, "That wasn't me," Pacheco later pleaded guilty to all charges of dangerous driving, and additional counts of possession of 4mg of cannabis and an attempt to pervert the course of justice by deleting the footage.

The Court heard how Pacheco had spent in the region of £30,000 on modifications to his car, and that it was his intention to take it to England and France for organised shows and track days.

Defending, Advocate Adam Harrison described how Pacheco was normally a safe driver, but was "...excited by the prospect of driving [his modified Nissan Skyline] and gave into the temptation to test it on the Island's roads."

Pacheco looked away as the court played footage of his escapades, which featured audible revving as he flew through the pedestrian crossing adjacent to Millbrook Park and from First Tower towards town around 23:45, and drove on the wrong side of the road on more than one occasion.

Prosecuting, Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit said that the driving posed "significant risk to others" and that, although no vehicles were present during the St Ouen stretch of the journey, Pacheco, "...did not appear to appreciate the risk that pedestrians may have been walking up the road."

Testing of the speedometer showed that it was poorly calibrated, subsequently leading to a charge of driving a motor vehicle in breach of construction and use requirements.

As a result, Advocate Maletroit moved for a forfeiture of the vehicle - an order that would have seen the sports car confiscated by the Police and disposed of - but defending Advocate Harrison successfully persuaded Deputy Bailiff Timothy Le Cocq QC, who sat with Geoffrey Fisher and Mike Liston OBE, of the "manifestly excessive" nature of the punishment, constituting a financial penalty of between £25-45,000 given Pacheco's heavy investment in its performance. Pacheco smiled as he learned that he would be able to maintain possession of the vehicle.

Addressing the disqualification penalty, Advocate Harrison commented: "Any length of disqualification will hit him hard and be a punishment in and of itself."

In delivering his verdict, the Deputy Bailiff said: "You drove at grossly excessive speeds and were a danger to yourself, your passenger, and members of the public."

Speaking of the YouTube video uploads, he commented: "It seems clear to us that from this act alone you were showing off and revelling in the power of the vehicle you were driving."

"We accept your remorse as genuine and the other letters speak well of you as a person of good work ethic and an otherwise valuable member of society."

Pacheco was subsequently handed a 180-hour community service sentence and ordered to pay £500 as a contribution towards the Crown's costs. He will have to retake his driving test at the end of his three-year disqualification period.