Lurgan father of ten given 10 penalty points at Craigavon court for being drunk in charge of a vehicle

Simon Paul Docherty, aged 65, from Woodville Street, Lurgan, appeared at Craigavon Magistrates Court on Wednesday last (July 24) charged with driving with excess alcohol in breath on the Gilpinstown Road, Lurgan, on June 28 this year. This charge was replaced with ‘in charge with excess alcohol’.

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A Prosecutor said that on June 28 this year at 3.20pm police received a report that a man had entered a chip shop on the Gilpinstown Road in Lurgan to order some food. “Members of the public suspected the man to be intoxicated with the smell on his breath and he was unsteady on his feet. He left the chip shop and drove off.

"The police located the van a short time later in the local garage forecourt. The defendant was sitting in the driver’s seat and the keys were in the ignition. Police spoke to the defendant and smelled intoxicating liquor on his breath and his speech was slurred,” she said, adding a preliminary breath test was carried out which was a failure and Docherty was arrested.

Docherty’s barrister Mr Conor Coulter said: “There were issues. He was initially charged with drink driving. There were issues about whether the person who was seen was the same person who drove the car. It is a drunk in charge that we are dealing with.

He said his client is aged 65 with no points on his licence. “He is very, very anxious about this matter about losing his licence. We have liaised with the PPS today to have the charge amended so there could be a plea of guilty today.”

Mr Coulter said his client has ten children and 39 grandchildren and is a member of the Travelling Community. “There are children scattered across the UK and Ireland so losing his licence is going to put him in some difficulties in visiting them. Since his wife passed away in 2016 he goes and stays with his different children and stays time with them all,” said the barrister.

He pointed out that Docherty has a previous conviction from 2016 of failing to provide. “That is around the time his wife passed away. Regarding this incident, it was the anniversary of her birthday and he had been drinking all the night beforehand with friends, until the early hours of the morning.

"He hadn’t been drinking that day. He was sitting in the car eating and there were others who had been coming in and out of the garage. He accepts he was in charge of the vehicle but had no intention of driving the vehicle. There were other people there who could drive," said Mr Coulter.

The barrister added that Docherty has COPD and asthma and has been hospitalised in January with breathing issues. Mr Coulter added that if he lost his licence he would never be able to pass the theory test and it would mean a permanent disqualification.

District Judge Michael Ranaghan told Docherty that Mr Coulter had persuaded him he didn’t need to disqualify the defendant. “I will deal with it today via penalty points and I do know your extended family situation.” He was given 10 penalty points.