A FORMER Tasmanian man has been jailed for his eighth drink or drug-driving offence.
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Troy Anthony Porter, 38, now of Dimboola in western Victoria, faced the Launceston Magistrates Court from the dock yesterday.
Launceston police had arrested him yesterday morning in George Town Road for having driven while using a mobile phone, disqualified driving and drink-driving with a blood-alcohol reading of 0.049, when he should have been on zero.
Porter pleaded guilty to the three charges, as well as a series of older driving and stealing matters.
Magistrate Simon Brown jailed Porter for six months, with four months suspended for two years.
He also disqualified Porter from driving for 2½ years upon release.
Police prosecutor Natalie Clark told the court of the earlier matters against Porter.
Launceston police had intercepted Porter driving in February and May 2013 and drug-tested him.
Mrs Clark said on the first occasion there was morphine in his blood, while the second time there was both methamphetamine and amphetamine in Porter's system. She also told the court that Porter was caught on CCTV shoplifting a CD from Coles Express at Newstead in June 2013, by stuffing the CD down the front of his pants. Defence solicitor Alan Hensley said his client had left Tasmania to "clean himself up" and had successfully completed the methadone program in Victoria for drug addiction.
Mr Hensley said Porter had briefly returned to visit his ill mother in Tasmania when police arrested him yesterday.