Motorist chalks up 7 traffic offences in one day
Tuesday, June 7 2016
A 21-YEAR-OLD man from Chaguanas admitted to a magistrate yesterday, that on Saturday, he drove a car without a driver’s licence.
But that was not all. Stefon Beharry admitted he drove with no insurance. He was not wearing a seat belt. He also admitted to failing to stop when called out by police to do so. But that was not all. He also pleaded guilty to driving while drunk.
Beharry admitted his guilt before Magistrate Natalie Diop in the San Fernando Magistrates’ court yesterday.
Asked to say something on all of these charges, Beharry said, “I’m sorry, I break the law so much.†In all he was slapped with seven charges. The court heard that at 9.40 am on Saturday, PC Wayne Ali of the Highway Patrol Branch, spotted Beharry driving along the south-bound lane of the Solomon Hochoy Highway near the Claxton Bay Flyover.
Court prosecutor Sgt Manick said the police officer drove alongside Beharry’s vehicle and noticed he was not wearing his seat belt. PC Ali motioned Beharry to stop. Beharry, the magistrate heard, refused to stop his vehicle and the police officer gave chase in his police vehicle.
When Beharry eventually stopped near the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, PC Ali asked him to explain why he had failed to stop. “Boss, I thought you was telling me to slow down,†Sgt Manick said as he quoted Beharry’s answer to PC Ali’s query.
A Field Sobriety Test with the breathalyser machine was conducted and Beharry’s alcohol content in his breath read 104 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath. He was charged with driving without a valid permit; driving without insurance; failing to stop when directed to do so by a police officer; not wearing seat belts; failing a breathalyser test; failing to produce a driver’s permit and failing to produce a certificate of insurance.
Magistrate Diop fined Beharry $5,000 or nine months in prison for driving under the influence; $1,000 or a month in prison for failing to have insurance and she disqualified him from driving for three years. Beharry was reprimanded and discharged on the charge of failing to produce a permit and certificate but was fined $500 or 30 days in prison with hard labour for not wearing his seat belt. The magistrate fined Beharry $200 for failing to comply with PC Ali’s instructions to stop his vehicle and $300 or 30 days in prison for driving without a permit. He was given two months to pay the $7,000 total fines.
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