A former military man from Forres has been banned from driving after he was caught on CCTV using his car while under the influence of drugs.
Ryan Duncan appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court on Thursday to be sentenced after he admitted to being under the influence of cocaine when police collared him in a car on December 24 last year.
The 38-year-old, who was described as once being a member of the army, will now be banned from driving for the next nine months.
Ban will extend previous conviction
The court heard that officers had approached Duncan when they spotted him sitting in Volkswagen Golf outside the Co-op on Forres’ Falconer Street and believed he was suffering from a medical incident.
A roadside drugs test, however, would discover that he was under the influence.
And despite telling officers he was waiting for a friend to pick him up, CCTV footage would show the vehicle being driven to the area and that Duncan was the sole occupant.
On Thursday, Duncan’s defence solicitor, Grant Dalgleish, said his client was suffering mentally at the time of the incident and acknowledged Duncan had a previous conviction for failing to provide a roadside sample – also from last year.
For that crime, he would be banned from driving for a year.
Referring to a background report that had been prepared ahead of his sentencing, Mr Dalgleish added: “Clearly, a man who for a period of eight years, as detailed in the report, had quite a lot of tragedy in his life.
“Somebody who perhaps would benefit from a community payback order. There are other parts of life that could certainly require assistance.”
No excuse for conduct
Sentencing Duncan, Sheriff David Harvie banned him for nine months, which will in effect increase his existing roads ban by one month.
He said: “I understand some of the issues you were facing this time last year.
“I appreciate these would have been challenging, [but] there really isn’t any excuse for this type of conduct – placing other people at risk, including yourself.”
In addition to his ban, Duncan will be under the supervision of the social work department for one year and complete 100 hours of unpaid work over the next six months.