Enniskillen Court House, RMGFH04
AN Irvinestown man who ran away from police after being found in the driver’s seat of a car, revving its engine, without a licence or insurance has been fined.
Patrick McMulkin (20) of Sally’s Wood, Irvinestown appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court, via video link from Hydebank Prison, on Monday where he pleaded guilty to driving without insurance or a licence..
The charges arose from an incident on Tuesday, August 4 when, shortly after midnight, police received a report of a car on the verge at Killymitten Road, Coa, with its engine being revved.
When officers arrived, McMulkin was sitting in the driver’s seat and two men were working on the engine.
When police approached, McMulkin threw the keys of the car into a field and the men fled, after being aggressive towards the officers.
The defendant was found a short time later lying in a field and was arrested.
McMulkin told police they had been doing work on the car, and said he had no keys to the vehicle and that he had never driven in his life, explaining to them he was “just pressing the clutch in and out.”
Defence solicitor Garry Smyth said while McMulkin was no stranger to the court, this was his first motoring offence. He explained the three men had bought the car between them.
The solicitor asked for credit to be given to McMulkin for his early guilty plea, and said his client, who is currently serving a prison sentence on another matter and is due for release in December, was using his time in jail productively, attending classes.
District Judge Nigel Broderick said he would give McMulkin credit for not wasting the court’s time.
For driving without insurance he fined him £300 and imposed six penalty points on his licence, and for driving without a licence he fined him £100 and gave him six penalty points, concurrent.
Judge Broderick order a warrant of committal of seven days on the fines imposed on McMulkin, which he said was concurrent to his current sentence.
That means, if the defendant does not pay the fines, he will have to serve a week in prison, however the sentence will not be added to his current term.
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