Suspended term for disqualified driver

Viktors Ozols, Corcrain Drive, Portadown, was given three months in custody, suspended for two years, and banned from driving for two years.

A concurrent two year ban and a £200 fine were imposed for not having insurance and he was fined £100 and ordered to pay a £15 offender’s levy for taking a vehicle without the consent of the owner.

The court heard that on June 4 this year at 3.45pm police saw him driving in Corcrain Drive and checked him because they believed he was a disqualified driver.

Further inquiries showed he had been banned for four years on May 3, 2017.

The owner of the vehicle then arrived on the scene and it was established Ozols had taken the car without her permission.

The case had been adjourned from a previous court to get a pre-sentence report.

Mr Richard Monteith, representing the defendant, said his client co-operated with police and he was still disqualified until 2021.

He added that Ozols knew that he was at risk of immediate custody but the court could suspend that sentence and he had consented to community service.