Fintona man who said he was ‘125-years-old’ fined in Omagh court

A MAN who claimed to be ‘125-years-old’ has been fined for multiple driving offences.

Vincent Sharkey, 60, of Tattymoyle Road, Fintona, was sentenced at Omagh Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

He was charged with obstructing police, driving without insurance, and using incorrect registration plates.

The case had been adjourned after Sharkey refused to cooperate with his defence solicitor, Michael Fahy, who subsequently came off record.

However, Mr Fahy returned to the case after Sharkey’s family indicated guilty pleas to the charges.

On December 19, at 8:40 pm, police on the Seskinore Road spotted a Peugeot van displaying registration plates marked ‘private’ on both the front and rear.

Police stopped the van and spoke to the driver, who claimed to be a ‘state official’ and told officers they had no legal authority to request his details.

The officers took the chassis number from the van, and checks revealed that Sharkey had no insurance.

He was arrested and taken to Strabane custody suite, where he refused to cooperate and no interview was conducted.

At his first court appearance, Sharkey, representing himself, told the court that he did not follow the ‘laws of man’ but adhered to the ‘laws of nature’.

Mr Fahy told the court that Sharkey had no previous convictions and had been employed for 40 years.

He explained that Sharkey had initially taken out insurance at the start of the year, paid it in full, but later cancelled the policy.

District Judge Magill pointed out that Sharkey had told police his birth date was January 1, 1900, making him 125-years-old.

Judge Magill accepted the guilty plea, remarking that Sharkey, at 60, ‘shouldn’t be here.’

Sharkey was given six penalty points and fined £350.