A County Durham delivery driver was found in possession of cocaine after police saw him swerving along a road. Connor Cleary, 27, was stopped by officers on June 22 after they received a report of a car driving on the wrong side of the road.
Cleary, of Rose Vale, Wynyard, pleaded guilty at Teesside Magistrates’ Court to failing to provide a specimen for analysis and possessing a class A controlled drug. The court heard he refused to give a breath sample and was found with snap bags of cocaine.
Police chase and arrest
Prosecutor Jess Pike outlined that Cleveland Police received a report of a car “swerving” and driving on the “wrong side of the road” at 11.30pm on June 21. The vehicle almost collided with the curb and was travelling at 80mph in a 30mph zone.
Officers activated blue lights and the car drove off, but eventually stopped, with Cleary being the registered owner. Ms Pike stated that Cleary was “unsteady on his feet, sweating, slurring and had glazed eyes”. He refused to provide a specimen, which was described as a “deliberate refusal”, and officers found “two small snap bags of cocaine”.
Court hearing and sentence
Andrew Teate, mitigating, said Cleary had been “misusing alcohol for a period of time before” but had been sober for six months. However, his grandfather had just passed away and it “hit him hard”. The court heard Cleary then “misused cocaine and an amount of alcohol” and panicked when police were behind him.
The defence solicitor told the court that Cleary was working as a delivery driver for various companies but “he had the sense to tell his employer he won’t be driving anymore” due to his conviction, and he has been dismissed. Deputy district judge Kielty told Cleary: “What concerns me is the driving.”
Community order and driving ban
A pre-sentence report found that the defendant is “fit, well and able for unpaid work”. Cleary was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 60 hours of unpaid work. He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months but offered the drink drive course to reduce his ban. He must also pay a court bill of £199.
