An Elgin food delivery driver has been banned – again – after being caught driving without a licence while working.
Pawel Pieronkiewicz, 35, admitted driving whilst disqualified and without insurance at Elgin Sheriff Court.
He also admitted having carried an offensive weapon – a knuckle duster – in his car but claimed it had been there when he bought it.
Fiscal depute Karen Poke told the court Pieronkiewicz had been disqualified at Elgin Sheriff Court on June 13 last year.
However, traffic police stopped Pieronkiewicz at around 11.15pm less than a month later on July 10 in a random plate check, on the B9103 at Newton.
Weapon found in car
“They activated their blue lights,” Ms Poke said. “They saw [Pieronkiewicz] in the driving seat and there was no one else with him.
“When asked for his driving licence, he said he did not have it with him.
“When they checked, they could see he was disqualified on their mobile terminal system.
“It appeared that he was delivering food as there was a bag on the passenger seat with food containers.”
The officers carried out a search of Pieronkiewicz’s white Renault Kangoo and discovered a brass knuckle-duster inside the driver’s door.
“He stated it was in the van when he bought it and he had only had it for about two weeks.”
Pieronkiewicz’s defence agent Stephen Carty said his client had “panicked” when stopped and asked for his licence.
‘This is all lies he is telling you’
“It was a stupid mistake,” Mr Carty continued. “He was not working at the time. He has five children, and he needed to earn money – he got the offer of being a delivery driver.”
Sheriff David Harvie interjected and suggested to Mr Carty he was perhaps not getting the full picture from his client and said: “Why would he buy the vehicle two weeks after being disqualified?
“This is all lies he is telling you. Where did he get the money from if he did not have work?”
Mr Carty replied to say the van had cost £400 and that Pieronkiewicz had thought he would be able to fix it up and sell it on.
He added: “But he succumbed to temptation. He has placed himself in a difficult position today.”
Sheriff Harvie said Pieronkiewicz had driven in the face of the court order placed “just four weeks before and to complicate matters further, you had a knuckle-duster in the car”.
He banned Pieronkiewicz, of Covesea Road, Elgin, from driving for 18 months and ordered him to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
He also placed him under supervision for 12 months on an electronic tag for two months, ordering him to stay at home between 9pm and 7am every day.
