Defendant ‘beyond the point of chances’

A 26-year-old man was sentenced to a total of ten months in prison last Wednesday at Craigavon Magistrates Court for public order and drugs offences.

Wayne McKeown, Parkmore, Craigavon, pleaded guilty to two sets of offences.

He admitted disorderly behaviour, assault on police and resisting police at Enniskeen on May 13 this year.

The court heard police received a report of someone causing a disturbance and saw McKeown who was under the influence of alcohol.

He was in breach of court bail and struggled with police while continuing to shout and swear.

When arrested he said: “You b—d.”

McKeown also pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a class A drug, cocaine, on January 25 this year.

Police saw him at Drumgor Heights and searched him after he was seen discarding a small bag which contained a suspected class A drug. Initially he denied the offence.

District Judge, Mrs Bernie Kelly, pointed out that McKeown was clearly in breach of a suspended sentence for a similar offence.

“He is beyond the point of chances,” she added saying this happened just a month after he had been given a combination order.

Defence barrister David McKeown said his client had shown willingness to work on the combination order and asked the court to considering deferring sentence.

Judge Kelly said there was ‘no chance’ of this pointing out that the defendant was facing breach proceedings in Lisburn for a disorderly behaviour offence.

Mr McKeown added McKeown had an unenviable record and was really in the last chance saloon.

“I think he had overshot that saloon,” said Judge Kelly.

She added that he had numerous disorderly behaviour offences on his record which had been dealt with in a variety of way.

For possession of cocaine she sentenced him to three months in prison and ordered him to pay a £15 offender’s levy.

Concurrent four months terms were imposed for the three offences on May 13.

She also invoked three months of a six month sentence which had been suspended for two years.

Judge Kelly ordered that the two three month terms and the four month sentence should run consecutively making a total sentence of ten months.