Sunday World Ireland
A FATHER of six caught driving with a blood cocaine reading of more than 45 times the legal limit was described as ‘a danger to the people of Offaly and Westmeath’ as he was handed a 10-year disqualification from driving.
Joseph Jessup (43), of Newtown, Tyrellspass, Co Westmeath, appeared before Judge Andrew Cody at Tullamore District Court on Wednesday charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine on the N52 at Ballard, Tullamore on May 23 this year.
A clearly appalled Judge Cody noted, as Jessup’s case was called, that it was just last month that he had come before him “with the highest drug reading I’d ever heard of … more than 45 times the legal limit.”
“Now, you’re back today,” he said, “for being four times above the legal limit [for cocaine].”
The judge’s comments related to a previous appearance by Jessup before the court on December 13.
On that occasion, he was charged that on March 6 on the R420 at Cloncollig, Tullamore, he did drive a mechanically propelled vehicle while there was present in his body a quantity of a drug named benzoylecgonine (cocaine).
The reading on that occasion was 2,338.0 ng/ml. The legally allowed limit is 50 ng/ml.
Judge Cody had fined Jessup €500 and imposed a three-year driving disqualification to take effect from December 28 on that occasion.
Appearing for Jessup at Wednesday’s hearing, solicitor Donal Farrelly pleaded that both the offence for which Jessup was sentenced in December and the one for which he was being sentenced this week occurred during the same period.
He said Jessup was a father of six and his marriage had broken down in the lead up to both incidents.
“It all happened within a period of devastation to him,” he said
