By 
AN Omagh motorist who was found to be three times over the drink-drive limit has been disqualified for 18 months and fined £250.
Martin McCabe (56), of Beechgrove, pleaded guilty to drink-driving at Omagh Magistrates Court.
The court heard that, on June 15, shortly before 8.45pm, police were notified of a driver drunk at a bar.
A patrol in the area spotted the vehicle around 11pm that night and indicated for it to pull over.
However, the car continued driving before turning into Beechgrove and stopping. Police approached the car and the driver, identified as McCabe, handed over his keys, telling officers, “You got me.”
He failed the roadside breath test and in custody gave an evidential reading of 103 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath, three times the legal limit.
Defence solicitor Michael Fahy told the court that McCabe’s last offence of relevance was 14 years ago.
However, he said that in the previous case McCabe failed to provide an evidential sample, unlike this offence. Mr Fahy said the defendant’s difficulty was his employment as a lorry driver, which he has since lost due to the court proceedings.
He added that, while McCabe ‘cannot shy away’ from the high reading, the court was not ‘left in the dark’ by his cooperation in providing a sample, as compared to refusing the sample.
Noting his guilty plea, District Judge Ted Magill said that he couldn’t keep sentencing ‘to the minimum’ due to the high reading.