Laois block layer disqualified for two years on drug driving charge
Portlaoise Courthouse
A BLOCK LAYER was disqualified from driving when he was convicted of drug-driving at Portlaoise District Court last week.
Karl Lawless (47), Marian Avenue, Portlaoise pleaded guilty to the offence when he was stopped driving by gardaí on 16 November last year at Ballytegan, Portlaoise.
The court heard that when gardaí stopped the car that Mr Lawless was driving, they detected a strong smell of cannabis from it. He failed a roadside drug test and, when taken to the nearby garda station, a blood sample was taken from him. The report of the analysis showed that he had being driving while under the influence of an intoxicant.
Defending solicitor Barry Fitzgerald said that his client “is a hard-working man, who works as a block layer and accepts that he should not have been driving at the time.” Judge Andrew Cody convicted Mr Lawless of the offence, fined him €400 and disqualified him from driving for two years.
