CCTV detects County Derry man twice in one day driving while disqualified
Judge warns "stupid" Draperstown motorist he faces a year behind bars if he breaches community order after being caught twice in one day on CCTV
Derry Crown Court heard today how a man, described by a judge as 'stupid', was detected twice in one day driving while disqualified after being detected on CCTV.
Paul Martin O'Hagan, 39, from Drumderg Road in Draperstown, pleaded guilty to two charges of driving without insurance and to two charges of driving while disqualified.He committed the offences at Drum Road in Draperstown and at the McDonald's fast food takeaway in Sweep Road in Cookstown on August 30, 2023.
Judge Roseanne McCormick KC said O'Hagan came before the court with a plethora of previous convictions and when caught in August 2023 he was serving a ten year driving disqualification.
"Of your sixty-seven previous convictions forty are for road traffic offences including six for driving while disqualified and fifteen for driving without insurance.
"It is a record which demonstrates you have no regard whatsoever for the law and for court imposed orders", she said.
Judge McCormick said O'Hagan, who was jailed for five years in 2019 after he was involved in a 100 mph crash when drunk, was detected when police officers called at the garage where he worked to discuss the whereabouts of O'Hagan's BMW car. O'Hagan denied he'd driven the car to work but CCTV footage from the garage showed him driving the vehicle.
Inside the car the police found a receipt for the McDonald's fast food takeaway in nearby Cookstown and CCTV footage from there showed O'Hagan driving into the premises and ordering food.
The judge said that there was a strong prosecution case because the defendant was clearly seen on CCTV driving the car twice on the same day.
She added that 'it comes as no surprise to the court' that probation have assessed O'Hagan as highly likely to re-offend in the next two years.
Judge McCormick said in a character reference O'Hagan's employer described him as a highly valued member of staff on whom he would be relying more in the immediate future due to his employer's serious illness.
She said O'Hagan's fiancee, whom he is due to marry in November, had also written to her outlining how she now drives him to and from work and how she has made changes to his lifestyle.
Judge McCormick imposed a three year Enhanced Community Order and further disqualified O'Hagan from driving for four years. She also fined him £500 and ordered him to complete one hundred hours of community service.
"I seen you came to court today with an overnight bag. If you do not complete this Order over the next three years and are brought back before me, bring your bag with you because there will be a twelve month jail sentence waiting for you", she told O'Hagan.