Banned rider banned again

A disqualified driver who refused to give Police a breath test after they stopped him on his scooter was given a $1,800 fine and a further 18-month ban at Magistrates' Court yesterday.

David Reid McCann, 23, of Beaming Hill, Southampton, was arrested on July 30 after officers saw him take a left-hand bend on the wrong side of the road while not wearing a helmet.

He pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and failing to give a breath test. He said he did not give the breath test because there were a lot of officers present and he did not hear the request.

The court heard that he had been disqualified from driving for a year in March.

Senior Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo gave him a six-month ban and $1,000 fine for the first offence and a 12-month ban and $800 fine for the second. The ban will keep him off the roads until September, 2008.

Conditional discharge for marijuana

A 34-year-old man was given a 12-month conditional discharge at Magistrates' Court yesterday after he admitted possession of a small amount of cannabis.

Darien Hewey, of Happy Valley Road, Pembroke, was found with a marijuana joint when Police stopped his car in Pembroke on March 10. The handrolled cigarette was later found to contain 0.88 grams of cannabis. Hewey told the court he wished to apologise for wasting its time.

Senior Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo said that because of the amount and the fact that Hewey had no previous drug convictions he was prepared to conditionally discharge him.

Stole $2,000 worth of shoes

A 56-year-old man denied stealing more than $2,000 worth of shoes when he appeared at Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Robert Eugene Hewey, of North Street, Pembroke, was accused of burgling W.J. Boyle and Son, of Church Street East, Hamilton, and taking 33 pairs of shoes between June 10 and 13. He also denied breaking into a building on King Street and stealing $1,250 between June 26 and 27.

The case was adjourned until August 18 and he was remanded in custody.

Costly win for Portuguese fan

A Portuguese worker told a court yesterday that he drove while drunk because he was celebrating a win by his team in the World Cup.

Joao Medeiros, 44, of Ord Road, Paget, admitted driving while impaired and without a licence on Front Street on June 12. The court heard he fell off his motorcycle after being stopped by Police at about 2.15 a.m.

Speaking through an interpreter, the construction worker told Senior Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo that he had been celebrating an early Portugal win in the football tournament.

"I wonder what would have happened if they went further," Mr. Tokunbo commented before fining him $900 and banning him from the roads for a year.

Disqualified driver took a chance

A disqualified motorist who admitted driving his friends home after a night out received a $1,000 fine and a further six-month ban at court yesterday.

Senior Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo told Ricky Foggo, 20, of Smith's Hill Road, St. George's: "That was thoughtful of you with respect to your friends but you were not thinking about yourself."

Foggo, who was already banned from the roads for a year, received another six-month disqualification for driving while disqualified, plus the fine.

Man charged with assault

A 63-year-old man denied assaulting a 13-year-old boy when he appeared in Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Walter Michael Collingwood Preece, of Crown Hill Lane, Pembroke, pleaded not guilty to an offence of unlawful assault causing bodily harm in Pembroke on July 10.

The case was adjourned for a trial on November 8 and bail was granted in the amount of $2,000.

'Undercover' man sent to jail

A man who claimed he was working undercover for a Police officer was told by a magistrate yesterday that he was talking "crap".

Dennis Webster Warner, 52, of Rec-View Hill, Devonshire, made the allegation in Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty to aggravated vehicle-taking, violently resisting arrest and taking a motorcycle without consent.

Webster was given two 12-month jail terms and one three-month term, to run concurrently, for the offences.

Mr. Tokunbo told him he would also have to appear before the Supreme Court for twice breaching his probation.

Did not trust 'tipsy' friend

A disqualified driver who opted to ride because he did not trust a "tipsy" friend to transport him was hit with a hefty fine in Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

Mervonne Cross-Hill, 20, pleaded guilty to committing the offence on August 8. He told Senior Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo that the friend who was meant to be riding had "had a couple of drinks." He explained that he had decided that "I was not risking my life in his hands" but had been pulled over by Police.

The defendant, of St John's Hill, Pembroke, was ordered him to pay a $1,000 fine and was handed a 12 month driving ban on top of his original disqualification.