Matthew Taggart (19) with an address at Galliagh Park in the town appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday charged with using a vehicle without insurance. 

The charges related to an incident at Irvine’s Crescent in Enniskillen on January 31st this year, when Taggart was stopped driving an Audi without insurance. 

While Taggart had been in Monday’s court list for that offence, he had been arrested on Monday morning by police on foot of a bench warrant regarding a separate offence after presenting himself to officers. 

The court heard Taggart had previously been fined for a charge concerning Class A drugs at the Crown Court in January 2014, and had failed to pay this fine. As such, a warrant was issued for his arrest. 

Defence barrister Stephen Fitzpatrick said Taggart was also in breach of a suspended sentence, in reference to a case before Dungannon Crown Court last month where he was sentenced to three years, suspended for three years, in connection to a further drugs charge. 

However, District Judge Nigel Broderick said the case before Monday’s court could have been dealt with at the time of that sentencing, and chose not to activate the suspended sentence. Instead, Judge Broderick said he wanted “to leave something hanging over his head” and sentenced Taggart to three months in prison, suspended for three years, “just like his last sentence.”