A DRUNK man who assaulted his wife and drove off in his car was so intoxicated that he was found slumped over the steering wheel after hitting a bollard and coming to a stop.
And when the police arrived on the scene, Seven Remzi was so out of it that they were not sure whether he was drunk or in need of medical assistance.
Following the incidents, Remzi, 38, of Grendon Drive, Rugby, at the time, pleaded guilty to charges of assault, dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen of breath.
And at Warwick Crown Court, Remzi, now of Abbey Street, Rugby, was sentenced to 20 months in prison suspended for two years, with a rehabilitation activity for 25 days.
Prosecutor Lee Egan said that at around 6pm on October 8 last year Remzi returned to his family’s home in Grendon Drive, where he lived with his wife and their three children.
He was drunk and shouting, and ‘responded badly’ when his wife asked him to be quiet and leave the house.
Remzi punched her to the head and face – in front of their 16-year-old daughter, who was holding their three-month-old baby – knocking her to the floor.
He kicked and punched her several more times to the head, face and shoulders before walking out through the back door.
He then forced his way back into the house to get his bank card, and slapped, punched and kicked her before leaving again.
Mr Egan pointed out there had been a history of domestic abuse within the relationship when he was drunk, although Remzi had no previous convictions.
Remzi got into his Mercedes and drove off, to the concern of another driver who saw him in nearby Staveley Way.
Seeing Remzi weaving all over the road, the concerned driver followed him and contacted the police.
In Crowthorns, Remzi hit a bollard and went onto the grass verge before returning to the road into the path of oncoming vehicles.
He eventually came to a halt and slumped forward over the steering wheel.
When officers arrived, they were unsure whether they had a drink-driver or a medical emergency on their hands because of the state Remzi was in, said Mr Egan.
He pointed out that Remzi’s wife ‘does not support the prosecution,’ and wants to re-establish her relationship with him.
Lucy Tapper, defending, said Remzi had entered his guilty plea knowing his wife had made a withdrawal statement, because he did not want to put her or their daughter through having to come to court.
“He is truly ashamed of what happened. He accepts he has a problem and needs help with it.
“He did not set out to get drunk that day, and he behaved in a way he is thoroughly ashamed of, and he compounded that by going off in his car.”
Miss Tapper added Remzi – who was the sole provider for the family, although he has lost his job as a delivery driver – has not been living at the family home since the incident, but it was hoped he will be able to reconstruct the relationship.
Sentencing Remzi and banning him from driving for two years, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano said: “I am not going to send you to prison today.
“There is one person you have to thank for that, and that is your wife.
“If I send you to prison I am making this unfortunate woman’s situation even worse. She needs you working to support her and the children.”
But the judge told him: “Assaulting a woman in front of children in her own home is a really serious offence, and if you then get into your car when you are drunk, you can kill someone.
“If that had happened, you would have been looking at a prison sentence in double figures.”
