Prophet gets into car accident

[Basi]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/hes-on-a-mission-from-god/story-e6freuy9-1226081982451

A VISITING American evangelist who claims healing powers has walked from a NSW court without even a fine despite driving 110km blind drunk and crashing into a parked car.

Self-claimed "prophet of God" Jason Hooper - touring with Hillsong protege Ben Hughes - declared God had forgiven him for his double-shot whisky binge that ended in a mangled wreck on the Mid North Coast.

"I've worked it out with the Lord. I was wrong," Hooper told The Sunday Telegraph.

It was a miracle the Christian revivalist, with a huge following in the US, didn't cause further turmoil on the Pacific Highway earlier this week after driving with a blood alcohol level of .206.

Hooper not only had God on his side but magistrate Wayne Evans who let him go, saying the preacher was a "person of good character" under a lot of "ministerial pressure".


The decision disgusted local police, who said Hooper could have been sent to jail for 18 months but got off with "a slap on the wrist".

The disgraced and dishevelled preacher, who claimed God had forgiven him for his terrible sins, also found he had the court on his side, escaping without a fine after he was involved in a crash with another car.

A member of the worldwide Morningstar Fellowship Church, Hooper - from South Carolina, was disqualified from driving in NSW for three years - a sentence that outraged local police and road-safety groups.

"When you think about the penalties for high-range drink-driving, he got off with a slap on the wrist," a police source said.

"The maximum fine is $3300 and you can go to jail for 18 months - he escaped both."

The boss of a road-safety group called for Hooper to be fined and deported back to the US.

Describing the sentence as a "joke", Pedestrian Council of Australia chairman Harold Scruby called for NSW Police Assistant Commissioner John Hartley to immediately appeal against the decision.

"This is a serious offence; he should be sent straight back home," he said.

Police said Hooper only made it halfway to Coffs Harbour when he crashed into a parked car on June 19 at Macksville on the mid-north coast.

The dad of three, who recorded a blood alcohol reading of .206, had clocked 110km, despite Macksville only being 50km from Kempsey.

A sheepish Hooper begged the court for mercy, saying he didn't normally drink and would seek counselling on his return to the US.

"I have spent the last week wrestling night and day with how I could have made such an error in judgment," said Hooper, whose conviction placed the rest of his NSW tour in jeopardy.

He travels the globe as an evangelist, recently appearing as guest preacher in several ministries in NSW.

Pleading guilty, Hooper said it was out of character for him and he had prayed for forgiveness.

Magistrate Wayne Evans banned Hooper, who has an international driving license, from driving in NSW for three years.

Mr Evans said Hooper was suffering financial and other pressures. "He had things weighing on his mind, 'ministerial pressure', and made a poor decision," he said.

He is a person of good character and this was a sobering offence from which he is embarrassed."

Hooper intends to reimburse the owner of the other car.

Police revealed Hooper had allegedly been drinking double shots of scotch before driving his rented Commodore to drive to Coffs Harbour. At 4pm, he slammed into the parked Hyundai on the Pacific Hwy, Macksville.

The preacher is set to continue touring with his next appearance at the Revival Outpouring Conference in Canberra from June 28 and had bloodshot eyes, court documents said.

He was arrested and charged at Nambucca Heads police station. Hooper is on a working visa and is in Australia an east coast church tour with Pour It Out Ministries.

His website describes him as a "revivalist". He practices an uptempo rock style of Christian preaching similar to that seen at Hillsong Church.

When asked how the incident would affect his tour and his faith, Hooper told The Sunday Telegraph that he was forgiven because he had "worked it out with the Lord".

Asked how, he said there was a "process" he had gone through for forgiveness but declined to elaborate.

He appeared in Orange last night and will again tonight. moving the tour to Canberra, South Australia, Victoria and Brisbane but said he "would see" whether he will continue the tour.

He was flanked by two supporters at court and burst into tears when Magistrate Evans handed down his verdict.

The magistrate said Hooper's level of intoxication was worrying.

"Anyone who blows 0.15 or over might be an indication of an underlying (alcohol) issue," Mr Evans said.

Hooper's Legal Aid representative Todd Ritchie told the court the preacher had been stressed because of "financial pressures".

Local Smash repairer Terry Booth if fixing the Hyundai, which belongs to a local teacher, and said Hooper was lucky no one was killed.

"Just imagine if he cleaned up a mother and father. He's lucky no one's dead," Mr Booth said.

The court heard Hooper plans to return to Australia for further tours in October and February.

[HotZhot]

diso tl; dr

[ye]

[Basi]

TLDR

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self claimed christian profit is hammered and ran into a parked car. But god has forgiven him

**Self-claimed "prophet of God" Jason Hooper - touring with Hillsong protege Ben Hughes - declared God had forgiven him for his double-shot whisky binge that ended in a mangled wreck on the Mid North Coast.

"I've worked it out with the Lord. I was wrong," Hooper told The Sunday Telegraph. **

worst part for me is

Hooper not only had God on his side but magistrate Wayne Evans who let him go, saying the preacher was a "person of good character" under a lot of "ministerial pressure". The decision disgusted local police, who said Hooper could have been sent to jail for 18 months but got off with "a slap on the wrist". The disgraced and dishevelled preacher, who claimed God had forgiven him for his terrible sins, also found he had the court on his side, escaping without a fine after he was involved in a crash with another car.

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appeal against the decision has been filed though so who knows what will happen

[McKeone]

I NEED A TL;DR VERSION

[HotZhot]

he need the TL; DR of the TL; DR

[Basi]