Polish angler 'did not intend to drive' court told

A Polish fisherman has been acquitted of a charge that he intended to drive a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol at Ballinafid, Mullingar last year.Kryzstof Matyja (40), with an address at 24 Griffeen Glen Green, Griffeen Valley, Lucan, Co. Dublin, pleaded not guilty to the charge at a special sitting of Mullingar District Court on Tuesday of last week.Garda John Walsh said that at 1.05am on April 1, 2009, he observed a car parked off the N4 at Ballinafid. The garda's attention was caught by a number of empty beer cans lying around the car.Garda Walsh said that he spoke with Mr. Matyja, who was seated in the driver's seat, about the litter. Two other men were in the car, and the garda said the car keys were in the ignition, and turned to enable the use of air conditioning.He said that he detected a strong smell of alcohol from Mr. Matyja's breath, and formed an opinion that he was "unfit to drive".Mr. Matyja was conveyed to Mullingar Garda Station, where a breath test registered a reading of 47 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.Requesting the custody record, Louis Kiernan, Mr. Matyja's solicitor, said that his client had two items in his possession when he was arrested: his wallet, and a fishing licence.He said that Mr. Matyja would give evidence stating that his client and his two friends had set up their rods and gear at Ballinafid Lake for a night of fishing, and that Mr. Matyja in no way intended to drive.Taking the stand, the defendant said that he started fishing with his friends at 6pm that evening, and enjoyed a few beers. At 11pm, he retired to the car, as the night had become very cold.Speaking through an interpreter, Mr. Matyja said that he was joined in the car by his two friends, and they fell asleep. They intended to resume fishing during the early hours of the morning, which Mr. Matyja described as the ideal time for catching fish.He disputed Garda Walsh's evidence that the car keys were in the ignition, or that the car was partially activated, saying that the keys were on the dashboard when he was approached by the garda."I didn't intended to drive home. I have never driven a car under the influence of alcohol," Mr. Matyja continued.He told Garda Inspector Jarlath Folan that the air conditioning was not switched on in the vehicle.Defence witness Michal Stepkowski, who was with Mr. Matyja on the night in question, backed up the defendant's claim that he did not intend to drive the car. "We were fishing from around 6pm that evening, and would have stayed there until 12 or 1 o'clock the following day," he said.The second witness, Bart Szymczak, was also present on the night. He told the court that he, Mr. Matyja and Mr. Stepkowski returned to the car between 10 and 11pm to get some sleep, at a time when conditions were not right for fishing.He denied that Mr. Matyja's car keys were in the ignition, or that the air conditioning was switched on, noting that the car windows were "fogged" when Garda Walsh came to speak with them.Mr. Kiernan told Judge Aeneas McCarthy that while his client was in charge of the vehicle, there was a "presumption" against him regarding intent to drive.The judge dismissed the charge, giving the "benefit of the doubt" to Mr. Matyja.