A judge chided a fishmonger for wearing shorts to court after he flouted a driving ban for the fourth time. Adam Jewell had cannabis in his system when he was caught driving while disqualified.
The 28-year-old was behind the wheel of a Skoda Fabia on December 22 last year when police stopped him in Llewellyn Road in Cwmbran. He was sentenced in January for driving while banned and with no insurance but it was not until Tuesday, June 14, that he appeared in court on the cannabis charge because of a delay in the results of his drug test, Newport Magistrates' Court heard.
Prosecutor Hannah Friedman said: "Mr Jewell was stopped while driving as police had information that he was potentially disqualified. He was the registered keeper of the car. However insurance was held in the name of another. At the roadside it was confirmed that he was disqualified until August 2023 and until a test is passed. He gave no mitigating reason."
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Police noticed that Jewell smelled of cannabis and they found "a few bags" of the Class B drug in a rucksack on the front passenger seat. Jewell has three previous convictions for driving while disqualified and a total of 24 offences on his record. He was jailed for eight weeks at his January hearing and handed a new driving ban lasting 33 months. His cannabis was destroyed.
Jewell has since served his jail term. He wore a hoodie, Nike T-shirt, Adidas shorts, and Adidas socks with sandals at his latest court appearance. The defendant, of Northam in Devon, admitted driving with 10 micrograms of THC — the main psychoactive compound in cannabis — per litre of blood.
District Judge Stephen Harmes said: "If all these offences were being dealt with at the same time we may have been looking at 12 to 16 weeks in custody. But I'm not going to do that today because if the prosecution wanted that to happen they should have brought him in for them all at the same time. The 33-month ban is fine. He can pay a fine."
Jewell earns £360 a week in his job as a fishmonger, which the court heard he has managed to keep despite his offending. The judge imposed a £360 fine and a £36 victim services surcharge. Jewell, who owes £213 to the court from previous penalties, will pay the debt at a rate of £75 a month.
As the hearing concluded Judge Harmes told the defendant: "Next time you come to court, don't wear shorts." Jewell replied: "Yeah, okay."
Outside court Jewell told WalesOnline he "didn't know you weren't allowed" to wear shorts. He said he had "no complaints" about the sentence, adding: "It's all good." You can read more court stories here.
