Belfast Telegraph, Saturday 28 October
125th conviction lands driver in jail
A man with over 100 driving convictions was yesterday jailed for three and a half years after agreeing to spend a further year on probation.
Belfast Crown Court heard that Kevin Cassidy (30) had been banned from driving until 2015 and was on bail when he was caught driving a Ford Mondeo at a police checkpoint on the city's Crumlin Road last January.
Prosecution lawyer Kate McKay told the court that Cassidy went through the checkpoint without stopping and began to drive dangerously as he was followed by police. She said Cassidy burst the two front tyres of his car as a result of his driving that night. She added that he had 124 previous convictions for similar offences.
Ms McKay told the court that Cassidy, who was twice the legal limit, was interviewed by police the following day and claimed he could not remember anything apart from waking up in a police cell.
Cassidy, from Belfast, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, no insurance, driving with excess alcohol and resisting and obstructing a constable on January 15, 2006.
Defence lawyer Charles McCrainor told the court that alcohol was "the root cause of his problems" as well as a life-long obsession with cars.
Disqualifying him from driving for 10 years, as well as imposing a fine of £500, Judge Tom Burgess told the court Cassidy's driving was "outrageous" and the fact "that no one was injured or was was a matter of luck".
He said "the courts have exhausted every disposal. He has been given opportunities to reform", adding that Cassidy was "long past the age when he should have addressed all these problems".
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