A MOTORIST argued at Tuam Court that he had been wrongly stopped by a Garda for holding a phone while driving when he insisted he had only been eating Skittles.
He said he could understand why the Garda might have thought he was on his phone, but he hadn’t been. It would have been easier, he said, to have paid the fine issued by the Garda as it was costing him more to come to Court to protest his innocence.
Garda Darren Egan told Judge James Faughnan that he observed Greg Harris, Rusheens, Tuam, holding a phone in his right hand at Galway Road in the town on February 2 last. The Garda issued a fixed-charge penalty which had not been paid and as a result the defendant was summonsed to Court.
When his case was called Harris said he was pleading not guilty and was sworn in.
In the witness box he insisted that he was not on his phone but had been eating Skittles from his lap.
He added that he had checked all the options open to him regarding his defence and concluded that the only one open to him was to come to Court and plead not guilty.
He went on to say that he didn’t get a chance to explain to Garda Egan about the Skittles as the Garda just checked his licence and issued the fixed penalty very quickly. All he said was “the phone is the problem.”
Harris said he was a painter and decorator and was driving his VW Transporter at the time, admitting that he could see why Garda Egan might have thought he was on the phone.
In answer to the Judge’s questions Harris said he had no points on his licence and had Bluetooth in his van.
The Judge told him Garda Egan was a exceptionally experienced, trained observer and they had heard his evidence that he had seen the phone in his right hand.
However, as Harris was defending himself he would give him some leeway. If he could produce some paperwork to show that he was not on his phone at the time he was pulled over they he could bring it back to Court on December 8 and produce it in his defence.
