An American law professor who tried to drive away from a Carlisle supermarket after knocking back alcohol he bought inside has been sentenced by magistrates.
Daniel Behn, 47, was seen inside the Kingstown Asda store at 9.45am on February 20 with a half-full bottle of alcohol he hadn’t paid for.
A security guard, concerned about how Behn had travelled to the supermarket, tackled the customer and was told he had driven. Behn paid for the drink and left the store. But he then got into the driver’s seat of a Mercedes outside and consumed more alcohol.
As he attempted to drive away, the security guard shouted at him to stop and park up, which he did.
“The guard removed the keys and waited for the police to arrive,” prosecutor Andy Travis told the city’s magistrates’ court today. Behn failed an initial breath test and a later reading showed 101mcg of alcohol in 100 ml of breath — almost three times the legal limit.
When questioned, American national Behn — a US licence holder — spoke of making a bad choice to drive. When asked what his intention had been after leaving Asda, Behn replied: “To drink and pass out.”
Behn, of Purser Court, High Street, London, admitted driving and driving while disqualified having been banned by Staffordshire magistrates for 18 months in January 2021.
He had previously admitted separate offences of driving while disqualified, having no insurance or MoT on July 15 last year in the same Mercedes on the M1 near Nottingham when a member of the public reported they had observed the car swerving and nearly crashing into other vehicles.
A man of previous good character, Behn had been cautioned for cocaine possession in October 2021.The court heard of Behn’s disturbing mental health problems, and that he had used alcohol as a crutch after failing to secure treatment.
“He apologises, through me, for his appearance in court today. He knows his behaviour was completely unacceptable,” said his lawyer, Jeff Smith.
Magistrates imposed a two-year community order comprising 300 hours’ unpaid work and rehabilitation. He was handed a 28-month driving ban. Behn is a senior lecturer in international dispute resolution at Queen Mary University of London.
