Doagh man was found 'spaced out' in driver's seat of parked vehicle
A Newtownabbey man was described as being "spaced out" when police found him in a vehicle with a 'bong' in the footwell, a court has heard.
A blood sample showed "drugs including morphine and cocaine," a prosecutor told Ballymena Magistrates' Court.
Winston Samuel Jenkins (44), whose address was listed as Anderson Park in Doagh, admitted being in charge of the vehicle whilst unfit to drive through drink or drugs at Antrim Road, Ballymena, on July 31 last year.
The court – sitting on Thursday, April 17 – was told how police saw a man sitting in the driver seat of a car at Antrim Road in Ballymena. He was alone and officers noted that he appeared to be "incoherent and spaced out".
Police saw a bong in the footwell of the vehicle and they suspected the man had perhaps "just smoked some sort of drug".
The court was told that police noticed that the defendant’s speech was slurred and that his reactions were slow. A small wrap of suspected Class C drugs was found but there was not enough to be tested, the prosecutor added.
A defence lawyer told the court that the defendant's offending was "characterised by recklessness" when he under the influence of drugs but that he has been "drug free since September".
District Judge Natasha Fitzsimons remarked that the defendant had a "horrific record for these types of offences".
She put the defendant on Probation for a year and also banned him from driving for three years.