As he imposed the jail term, the Judge said: “I’ve come to the conclusion that, at this point in his criminal career, the only way of dealing with him is by custody.”
Belfast courts stock image(Image: Justin Kernoghan/Belfast Live)
A banned driver with over 100 motoring convictions was jailed on Thursday after he was caught driving whilst disqualified.
Liam Joseph Clarke, who is 44 and from Sliabh Dubh View in Belfast, was handed the 14-month term by Judge Mark Reel who divided it equally between prison and licence.
Belfast Crown Court heard that on January 8 of this year, police had had cause to stop a black Vauxhall Mokka being driven by the Clarke.
The car had taken a sharp left onto Highcliff Gardens before stopping on the side of the road.
Clarke was behind the wheel and after identifying himself to police, checks revealed he had been disqualified from driving for five years in March 2022.
He was also driving without insurance and during an interview with police, he admitting to driving whilst disqualified on roads between Ballygomartin Road and Highland Parade and having no insurance.
Clarke has a criminal record of 251 previous offences with the court hearing over 100 of these were motoring convictions.
Defence barrister Paul Burns said that whilst it was acknowledged Clarke had a lengthy record, he spoke of a “tailing off in terms of the frequency of his criminal offending.”
Mr Burns added that Clarke’s focus was now on his children and “to get on the roads legally.”
Judge Reel noted that whilst Clarke “made excuses” to Probation about why he decided to drive on the day in question, he said “the point is, he clearly was aware of the fact he was disqualified from driving and he simply took the decision to drive.”
As he imposed the jail term, the Judge said: “I’ve come to the conclusion that, at this point in his criminal career, the only way of dealing with him is by custody.”
In addition, Clarke was banned from driving for two years.
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