A drug user who was pictured passed out behind the wheel of his car in the middle of the day despite being banned from driving has avoided a jail sentence.
Nicholas Arthur Proctor and a female passenger were found in September 2019 in their parked Toyota Rav4 on a Perth street, with witnesses saying the pair 'looked like pretzels'.
The shocking picture went viral with stunned Australians calling the 33-year-old a 'meth zombie'.
Nicholas Arthur Proctor and a female passenger were found in September 2019 in their parked Toyota Rav4 on a Perth street, with witnesses saying the pair 'looked like pretzels'
A passer-by who found the pair said they drove off the main street into an alley when they were disturbed but then immediately were 'out-cold' again.
'At that point I walked up, took the keys out of the ignition, called police and waited for them,' the witness said.
'The looked like a pretzel, she was all twisted up and he was slumped down across her.'
Proctor was later revealed to have been caught by police on two other previous occasions passed out behind the wheel while on drugs.
In January 2019 - after being found unconscious in his car with a loaded replica pistol on his lap - Proctor admitted to police that he had ingested the drug GHB before driving, according to The West Australian.
A cocktail of drugs was found in his system while later tests revealed he had also consumed methamphetamine and the opioid pain medication Tramadol.
The picture from September 2019 went viral, with drug tests revealing Proctor was on a cocktail of substances
Just a month later in February 2019, he was again found unresponsive while behind the wheel.
Parts from a shotgun were also found wrapped in a towel and placed inside a bag in the car on this occasion.
Proctor had been behind the wheel despite already being banned from driving for life by authorities for previous offences.
He was given a suspended jail sentence earlier this year on a long list of charges but then disappeared while out on bail.
On Tuesday, he was dragged before Perth Magistrates Court again on another string of charges including drug possession, giving false personal details to police, failing to obey a data access order, and using a mobile phone while driving.
A witness said the pair woke up after they were disturbed but then drove their Toyota to a nearby side street where the immediately passed out again
He was also hit with a stealing charge after making off with a resin two-seater bench from a shopping centre in Perth's inner-northern suburbs.
Magistrate Elaine Campione said Proctor had shown disrespect for the court after previously failing to appear and was amazed he had not seriously crashed his car from frequently driving while on drugs.
'Your drug use has been going on for years ... and you continue to offend and put the community at risk,' she said.
Despite his lengthy history of dangerous offences, the magistrate said she acknowledged that Proctor was currently in an intensive drug rehabilitation facility and opted to keep him out of prison.
Proctor received another suspended jail sentence, along with a community order and $4,400 in fines.
