Highland sheriff warns man he has 'significant custodial sentence' in mind after drug-driving and road traffic offences which included incident in Tain
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A driver who got behind the wheel with drink or drugs in his system three times in five months is facing a lengthy prison term.
Sheriff Gary Aitken warned Andrew McNeil that "a significant custodial sentence" was "uppermost" in his mind after the 41-year-old admitted five road traffic offences, one of them in Easter Ross.
McNeil, of Upper Kessock Street, Inverness pleaded guilty at Inverness Sheriff Court to driving with three-and-a-half times the safe level of cocaine in his system in Oldtown Road, Inverness on July 25, 2020.
His next offence was after he was stopped in Bruce Gardens, Inverness on October 11, 2020 with almost seven times the 50mcgs limit of a cocaine metabolyte. His reading was 703mcgs.
The difference between the two is the time involved between taking the drug and driving. The metabolyte demontsrates the more historic drug taking.
On December 31, 2020, McNeil was caught again in Market Street, Tain driving while unfit through drink or drugs. He also had no insurance and no valid licence.
Sheriff Aitken elected not to hear the full facts and deferred sentence until August 4 for a background report.
