A man was jailed for 145 days yesterday for drug-driving.
Hugo Martins, 32, had previously admitted driving while unfit through drugs at Connel on the A85 Oban-Perth road on June 12.
A plea of not guilty to driving while unfit through drink or drugs at George Street in Oban the previous day was accepted by the Crown.
Fiscal Eoin McGinty told Oban Sheriff Court that at 1.20pm on June 11 a woman who was driving in Oban’s Argyll Square stopped at a roundabout and the car behind her collided with her vehicle.
He added: “It was a blue Saab. The driver, who was the accused, got out and spoke to the woman to apologise. She thought he was drunk at that point but she couldn’t smell alcohol. He provided his details and drove off.
“Some 20 minutes later there was a report to Oban police station that a blue Saab was outside the Rowan Tree Hotel, the accused was the driver, the car had driven off and that driver and his passenger were ‘out of their face’.
“The car was stopped and he was seen to have blue powder on his teeth. He was taken back to the police office where he gave a negative result for alcohol.
“Later, he was examined by a doctor and charged, although a plea of not guilty has been accepted.”
Mr McGinty added: “At 1.50am the following day police officers were driving on the A85 near Connel when they saw a blue Saab. It was swerving on the road. They could see crash damage, the rear bumper was hanging off.
“The car was stopped and the accused got out. He was unsteady on his feet. Police could hear that his speech was slurred, but they couldn’t smell alcohol. He appeared to be in a heightened state.
“As police were standing there he proceeded to open the boot and attempted to remove the spare wheel. It was then that police saw that the vehicle was also damaged on the passenger side and the car had been driving on the metal rim of the wheel, there was no tyre whatsoever.
“He was brought back to Oban police station and passed the intoximeter test. He was subsequently seen by a doctor who formed the opinion he was under the influence of drugs.”
The court heard Martins had taken valium after drinking alcohol the previous day.
Sheriff Douglas Small said: “I have no alternative but to impose a custodial sentence.”
