A LISNASKEA man has been fined a total £450 and handed a 12 year driving ban after taking his neighbour’s car without permission to buy cigarettes before crashing it into a hedge.
Liam O’Callaghan, of Keady Road, Drumhose appeared before Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged in relation to the incident on October 8th last year.
The court heard that the injured party had been collected at her home that night and taken to Bingo, leaving her car keys in the hall and her Hyundai i10 car in the driveway. When she was returning home later that evening, she saw her car in the hedge. O’Callaghan was in the back of the vehicle and told her that he had taken it to get cigarettes and had crashed on his way back home.
When police arrived at the scene, they detected a smell of intoxicating liquor coming from the vehicle and noted that O’Callaghan’s responses were slow and his pupils dilated. Officers obtained the keys from O’Callaghan and seized the vehicle. After being arrested and cautioned, O’Callaghan told officers: “It’s my fault”.
Police carried out a procedure to test the level of alcohol in his blood. A reading of 74mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood was given. While in custody, herbal cannabis was found in the defendant’s shoe while further examinations later found traces of the drug in his bloodstream. His DNA was also found to be on the steering wheel of the vehicle. In police interviews, the defendant admitted his involvement in the offences and taking his neighbour’s key to access the vehicle.
O’Callaghan was charged with being unfit to drive through drink/drugs, driving without insurance or a driving licence, aggravated vehicle taking causing damage and drug possession.
Defence barrister Stephen Fitzpatrick told the court that his client’s cannabis consumption had affected his ability and was a major feature in his taking of the vehicle.
Mr Fitzpatrick said that the injured party regarded the defendant as being “like a son to her”.
“Both families have keys to each others houses and come and go as they please. It is an unfortunate state of affairs but my client did purchase his neighbour a new car for a few hundred pounds and replaced the hedge which was only a few hundred yards from the house. He is a young man who made a very foolish decision but he has tried his best to rectify the situation,” he added.
Mr Fitzpatrick said his client had previously held a provisional licence and never passed a driving test.
District Judge Nigel Broderick told the court that the defendant had made “a foolish decision to take the vehicle”.
“There was an element of mistrust in going to the lady’s home and taking her vehicle. I’ll give him credit for his early plea in interviews with police and efforts to resolve matters,” he added.
O’Callaghan was fined £200 and disqualified for 12 months for driving while unfit, £100 for having no insurance and £50 on each of the remaining three charges.
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