A MAN was found with ecstasy in his pocket – asleep in his badly damaged car with his legs sticking out the window and his dog wandering nearby – by States police officers.
Richard Stephen Russell (37) admitted possessing drugs and driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition and was yesterday fined £500 in the Magistrate’s Court and given a six-month probation order.
But he was not banned from driving as he is currently living in a van and would have been rendered homeless had such a punishment been imposed.
Advocate Katie Ridley, prosecuting, said Russell parked his badly damaged red Volkswagen Polo in Pier Road car park on the evening of 18 March.
CCTV footage showed that he had driven there from Bath Street.
Advocate Ridley said: ‘A male was lying unconscious in the car with his legs out of the window and his dog wandering around the car park.
‘When he was searched, they found three and a half tablets of ecstasy in the pocket of his jeans.’
The court was shown a photograph of the vehicle, which was found to have worn or under-inflated tyres, faulty brakes, poor suspension and a faulty brake light. The rear bumper was partly detached and oil was leaking onto the ground.
The court heard that Russell had previous convictions for driving vehicles in a poor condition and for possessing drugs.
Advocate Lucy Marks, defending, said that the ecstasy tablets were for Russell’s personal use.
She said some of the damage to the car had been caused by a minor collision near St John’s Manor, where a larger vehicle had forced him to scrape against a wall.
She said: ‘Mr Russell was aware of some but not all of the defects.
‘He is a man of limited financial means and did not have the money to pay for the damage to be repaired.
‘He had been using the car only sparingly. He had been invited to a party and decided to drive there.’
She added: ‘Mr Russell has shown remorse and understanding. He has accepted full responsibility for his actions.’
She also pointed out that he lived in a van and that if he were banned from the roads, he would have nowhere to live.
Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris agreed to her suggestion of a probation order and a fine. He allowed Russell to pay the fine at the rate of £100 per month.
