Young motorist who crashed into wall of Craic Theatre in Coalisland loses licence for 15 months

Twenty-three-year-old Sylvester Lakatos, from Elm Avenue in Dungannon, was also fined £200 with a £15 offender's levy for driving while having consumed excess alcohol in breath on December 21 last year.

He was fined a further £350 for aggravated vehicle taking without permission, driving without insurance, and having no driving licence on the same date.

Dungannon Magistrates Court heard on Friday that at 5.03 am, police received a report of a single-vehicle collision at Dungannon Road, Coalisland.

Prosecuting counsel said police found a vehicle had collided with the wall of the building housing the Craic Theatre.

The lawyer said the keys of the vehicle were found on his person and it transpired that the vehicle was owned by his father, who was unaware that it had been taken by the defendant.

Continuing, he said Lakatos was arrested and taken to Dungannon custody suite, where he provided an evidential specimen of breath showing an alcohol reading of 61 mcgs per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 mcgs.

Admitting the offences, defence lawyer said the defendant worked in a local meat factory and lived with his brother.

He stressed that Lakatos offered “no excuse” for the incident which he said came down to poor judgement on the defendant’s part.

The lawyer pleaded with the court to deal with the matter as leniently as possible.