A German national who threatened to kill his girlfriend has been sentenced to nine months prison.
Jan Lukas Falke, 21, appeared in the Dunedin High Court on Thursday.
He was arrested after he tried to drive a car into Lake Dunstan near Cromwell on January 22. The car got stuck in a crash barrier.
His girlfriend was inside the car at the time.
Falke screamed at his girlfriend moments before the crash saying he was going to kill them.
He was initially charged with attempted murder but that charge was later dropped.
Falke was however charged with threatening to kill, dangerous driving, male assaults female, drink driving, and unlicensed driver failing to comply.
He addressed the court room and his ex-girlfriend saying he still loves her.
"Yes I love you but it still hurt and I didn't know how to work out our relationship properly," he says.
"I want to work out my anger issues."
The victim also appeared in court where she read her victim impact statement explaining how difficult the incident had been to deal with.
"I don't sleep properly, I have nightmares four times a week, I'm exhausted because I'm not sleeping well," she says.
"I'm much more suspicious of people now. I had plans to travel around the South Island, but didn't feel comfortable travelling by myself. I have had to change all of my plans because of the court case.
"This is going to haunt me."
Falke recorded with a blood alcohol level of 584 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath on the day of the incident. The legal limit is 250mcg.
When he appeared in April, Falke pleaded guilty to all charges.
Falke was working as an orchard worker in Alexandra at the time.
Newshub.
