A female motorist has been disqualified from driving for a lengthy period after admitting that she was unfit to drive through drugs after being stopped by police in Stepaside.
Thirty-two-year-old Alisha Barnes of Mellon Street, Newport, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court via video link on Tuesday, to plead guilty to driving a Rover 45 with cocaine in her system on the A477 at Stepaside.
Prosecutor Sian Vaughan told magistrates that Miss Barnes and her partner were stopped in their vehicle during the early hours of August 5 in Stepaside.
Miss Vaughan explained that the defendant had already been sentenced for some of the charges, hence why she was already in custody at HMP Eastwood Park.
“Police officers carried out a check on Miss Barnes’s vehicle and it had no insurance or MOT. They spoke to her and at the time she didn’t give her appropriate name,” she explained.
A breath test was administered and Miss Barnes was found not to be over the alcohol limit, but a swab test showed that she had taken cocaine.
Miss Vaughan told the court that the defendant had already been handed an 18-month driving disqualification earlier this year for failing to provide a specimen to police officers, and had been given a suspended jail sentence for driving whilst disqualified in July.
Defence solicitor Stacey Holmes told the court that her partner had initially been driving the vehicle, but that Miss Barnes had taken over as he had fallen asleep at the wheel.
“She was trying to find somewhere safe to park. Since being remanded in custody, Miss Barnes has taken numerous alcohol and drug awareness courses,” she added.
Magistrates disqualified Miss Barnes from driving for 36 months and fined her £120 for the offence.
She was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.