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07
Nov
Ex-marine with PTSD admits drink-driving in Harrogate
The Stray Ferret spent the morning at Harrogate Magistrates Court today (November 7).
We sat through a full morning of hearings, which included several driving-related offences and a harassment case.
You can read reports on three cases below.
An ex-Royal Marine pleaded guilty to drink-driving in Harrogate.
Prosecutor Mel Ibbotson told the court police were called to Harlow Avenue on June 30 after someone saw a car crashed into a lamppost.
Police found Duncan Ferguson, 44, asleep at the wheel with his seatbelt fastened and the engine still running.
Ferguson was found to have 190 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, which is more than twice the legal limit of 80mg.
Ms Ibbotson said Ferguson, of Wester Broom Drive in Edinburgh, was of previous good character.
Ferguson was in Harrogate to help a lifelong friend move house.
The pair had dinner together the night before the incident, but Ferguson drank alcohol the following morning – the day of the collision.
Mr Molloy, defending, added:
Mr Ferguson’s friend said he needed to move his car to his old property, so Mr Ferguson followed in his car so that he could then drive the friend back home.
He realised he was in no fit state to drive soon after and he tried to turn around – that’s when the collision occurred. He is extremely remorseful.
Mr Molloy told the court Ferguson served in the marines for 12 years and has since suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as nightmares and flashbacks.
He is having sessions with a counsellor, the court heard, and has been doing well mentally since the incident.
But Mr Molloy said the collision was a catalyst to “make him turn his life around” and “deal with his mental health head on”.
He added: “Mr Ferguson tells me this is one of the worst things to ever happen to him."
Ferguson was disqualified from driving for 20 months, which will be reduced by 20 weeks if he completes a drink driving rehabilitation course.
He was ordered to pay a £817 fine, a surcharge of £327 and £85 in costs.
Harrogate man ‘needs to grow up’ after drug-driving
Caine Nicholson, 25, of Chatsworth Place, pleaded guilty to driving above the drug-drive limit.
Ms Ibbotson, prosecuting, told the court police noticed a VW Golf “driving at excess speed” on the A658 in Harrogate on September 7.
Police signalled for the car to pull over on Rudding Lane and Nicholson “apologised” for speeding.
The court heard police noticed cigarette papers in his car and asked the defendant if he smoked cannabis. He said he did and was subsequently drug tested at the police station.
Tests found 3.9 micrograms of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol – a chemical found in cannabis – in his system.
Nicholson was of previous good character, Ms Ibbotson said.
Andrew Tinning, defending, told the court Nicholson would “smoke a joint before going to sleep” at the time of the incident, but Nicholson had now “packed it in” and “knows he needs to grow up”, as he has a young child.
The magistrates disqualified Nicholson from driving for a year and ordered him to pay a total of £407 to the courts.
This included a £230 fine, a £92 surcharge and £85 in costs.
Man admits harassing ex-employer
Former Harrogate man John Quinn pleaded guilty to harassing his ex-employer between March 19 and April 18 this year.
Quinn, who lived at Strawberry Dale in Harrogate at the time, worked for the named woman for two years but later lost his job.
Prosecutor Ms Ibbotson said he started sending his ex-boss a stream of messages, including to “ask if she is ok” and to say he was “struggling with a job”. He also asked her to give him a reference.
Ms Ibbotson said the woman started fearing for her safety and it affected her mental health.
The victim told police he understood why the complainant eventually felt harassed, the court heard.
Mr Tinning, defending, said all was well with Quinn’s job until his ex-boss asked for a laptop back, which she had previously given to him.
The court heard:
Mr Quinn thought the laptop was a gift. It was broken and he had sold the remaining working parts on for £30. She believed he had stolen it, and he lost his job.
Quinn, who now lives at Rosemary Street in Mansfield, was “rather lost” after losing his job, Mr Tinning said, adding the defendant had been trying to repair the relationship.
Mr Tinning said it was an “unusual harassment case”.
The magistrates handed Quinn a nine-month conditional discharge. He was also ordered to pay a £26 surcharge and £85 in court costs.
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