THE LATEST CASES FROM NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE JUSTICE CENTRE:

BURSLEM: Warehouse worker Bridget Maloney was caught drink-driving – without insurance.

Police stopped a Seat Leon being driven by the 27-year-old in Lingard Street, Burslem, in the early hours of April 23.

She failed a roadside breath test and later gave a reading of 49 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Maloney, formerly of Bycars Road, Burslem, pleaded guilty to driving while over the alcohol limit and driving without insurance.

Drink-driver Bridget Maloney
Drink-driver Bridget Maloney

Magistrates at North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard she accepted she had been ‘foolish’.

Maloney was fined £372 and ordered to pay £135 court costs and a £30 victim surcharge. She was disqualified from driving for 14 months which will be reduced if she completes a drink-drive rehabilitation course.

TUNSTALL: Uninsured driver Darren Walker handed himself in - after earlier failing to stop his car for police.

Magistrates at North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard officers had tried to stop the 26-year-old’s Peugeot 206 on Leek Road, Joiners Square, because the exhaust was hanging onto the road.

But Walker sped away, drove through a red light and only stopped when he hit a bollard.

The court heard Walker and his two passengers then ran off following the incident on April 5.

But he later phoned police and admitted he had been driving, saying he panicked because he was on licence and had 16 points on his driving licence.

Walker, of Pinnock Street, Tunstall, pleaded guilty to failing to stop for the police and driving without insurance.

Simon Dykes, mitigating, said: “Mr Walker put right the situation. Had he not identified himself as the driver I think it would have been impossible for anyone to have identified him as being so.”

Walker was fined £170 and ordered to pay £135 court costs and a £30 victim surcharge. He was disqualified from driving for 18 months.

NEWCASTLE: Two brothers have appeared in court after being caught shoplifting.

Stephen Lear, aged 41, and Andrew Brzozowski, both of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at North Staffordshire Justice Centre to stealing 10 packs of beef brisket from Lidl, in Newcastle, on April 28.

Brzozowski, aged 35, also admitted stealing a tracksuit from JD Sports on April 15, and meat from Tesco, in Newcastle, on March 5. He received a 12-month community order with a 10-day rehabilitation requirement and a six-month drug rehabilitation activity requirement. He must pay £20 compensation.

Lear, who was in breach of a suspended sentence, had his current drug rehabilitation requirement extended by three months and was ordered to pay £20 compensation.

LONGTON: Drink-driver Alex Stoica was three times the alcohol limit when he was stopped by police.

North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard officers saw the 31-year-old driving erratically in Shelton on April 29. The Romanian national went on to give an alcohol reading of 106 micrograms in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35.

Stoica, of MacDonald Crescent, Longton, was not represented by a solicitor in court but said: “I am sorry for what happened.”

He was handed a 12-month community order with 60 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £135 court costs and an £85 victim surcharge. He was disqualified from driving for 24 months, which will be reduced if he completes a drink-drive rehabilitation course.

BURSLEM: A 24-year-old sex offender will appear at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court after he admitted failing to sign on at a police station.

Mohammed Majid, of Nile Street, Burslem, pleaded guilty at North Staffordshire Justice Centre to failing to comply with his annual notification requirements. He was placed on the Sex Offenders Register in 2017 after being convicted of a grooming offence.

The case was committed for sentence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on a date to be fixed.

STOKE: Warehouse worker Justas Zidonis was stopped by police - after being seen wheeling his motorbike while drunk.

Officers stopped the 20-year-old in Stoke Road with the vehicle and he was later found to have an alcohol level of 138 micrograms in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal driving limit is 35.

He told police he was ‘probably going to drive’.

Zidonis, of Fielding Street, Stoke, pleaded guilty to being in charge of a motor vehicle while over the limit and keeping a vehicle which does not meet insurance requirements.

Stephen Oldham, mitigating, said: “It was a one-off, foolish decision.”

District Judge Kevin Grego handed Zidonis a 12-month community order with 60 hours unpaid work and fined him £300.  He was disqualified from driving for two years.

CLAYTON: Thief Gary Stonier stole a handbag from a car parked outside his victim’s house.

The 29-year-old, of Rydal Way, Clayton, was caught on CCTV taking the bag from the Audi vehicle on March 27. Police identified him from the footage. He pleaded guilty at North Staffordshire Justice Centre to theft from a motor vehicle.

The court heard he had been given a suspended prison sentence since the offence, which he was co-operating with. He was given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

BURSLEM: Drug user Mark Haddon stole goods from B&M - so he could sell them on to buy methadone.

North Staffordshire Justice Centre heard the 31-year-old was caught taking two Dolce and Gabbana fragrance gift sets and two eyeliners – with a total value of £94 – from the Waterloo Road store, in Burslem, on April 22.

He pleaded guilty to theft from a shop. Haddon, of Glendale Street, Burslem, said he had sold the goods in Wetherspoons for £30 and used the cash to buy methadone.

He was given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and must pay £100 court costs, a £115 victim surcharge and £80 compensation.

TUNSTALL: A 32-year-old man has been fined for failing to provide a specimen after he was stopped by police.

Daniel Owen, of Dawn Avenue, Tunstall, pleaded guilty at North Staffordshire Justice Centre to committing the offence on February 22.

He received a 12-month community order with a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement and was fined £200, plus an £85 victim surcharge. He was disqualified from driving for two years.

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