A LITHUANIAN man who feel asleep behind the wheel of his car with the engine still running in the while still on the road is to spend the next ten days in jail as he cannot pay the fines for the offence.
Tomas Kraujelis (32), whose address was given as no fixed abode, Omagh, appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday after being arrested at his car on Sunday for drink driving, driving without insurance, driving without a licence, and taking a car without the owner’s permission.
The court heard that around 3.47am on Sunday, August 14 police received reports of a car sitting in a dangerous position on the Geaglum Road in Derrylin. When they arrived at the scene they found Kraujelis asleep at the wheel of a Mitsubishi Colt, with the keys in the ignition and the engine running.
The officers had to shake Kraujelis to wake him, and when he woke his eyes were glazed and his breath smelled of alcohol. Checks on the car also revealed it wasn’t insured.
Kraujelis, who gave the police a Lithuanian address, was arrested at 4.30am, and was unsteady on his feet when he got of the car and needed to be escorted to the police car. He was taken to Enniskillen Police Station where he returned an evidential reading of 78 micrograms per 100ml of breath.
The court was told that during his police interview it became apparent Kraujelis didn’t own the car he was driving, and as he refused to reveal the identity of the owner, and having admitted to not having a licence, he was charged with those offences also.
Deputy District Judge Peter King fined Kraujelis £200 and disqualified him from driving for 18 months for drink driving, for no insurance he fined him £200 and disqualified him for 18 months, for no licence he fined him £100 and disqualified him from driving for six months, and for taking a car without permission he disqualified him from driving for 18 months and sentenced him to three months in prison, suspended for 18 months.
However, as Kraujelis did not have the money to pay the fines imposed on him, and as he does not have an address in the North, he is required to spend a total of ten days in jail in lieu of paying the money.
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