Man caught drug driving twice in five days

Steven David Hicks, 37, of Priory Road, West Moors, appeared at Poole Magistrates’ Court on Thursday for sentencing after admitting two offences of drug driving.

On May 12 officers stopped a black Mercedes Vito in Stanfield Road in Poole. The occupant of the vehicle’s speech appeared slurred and a drug wipe was conducted.

Following a positive reading for cocaine, the defendant was arrested and a blood sample was taken in custody. The sample contained 22 micrograms of cocaine per litre of blood and more than 200 micrograms of benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, per litre of blood.

The legal limits are 10 micrograms per litre of blood for cocaine and 50 micrograms for benzoylecgonine.

On May 16, Hicks was stopped again in the same vehicle on Richmond Park Close in Bournemouth. He tested positive reading for cocaine and was arrested for a second time.

Blood samples revealed readings of 40 micrograms of cocaine and 800 micrograms of benzoylecgonine – 16 times the legal limit.

Hicks was also sentenced to a community order, 150 hours of unpaid work in the community and ordered to pay £85 court costs.

Inspector Joe Pardey said: “Anyone driving while under the influence of drugs poses a serious threat to other motorists and members of the public.

“The fact that Hicks was caught twice in such a short period demonstrates the risk he poses to other road users and I am glad that thanks to this sentence he will not be able to get behind the wheel for a considerable period of time.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to ensure the safety of road users in Dorset, our traffic officers and No Excuse Team will continue to carry out proactive patrols to target those drivers who are known to pose a significant threat of causing risk or harm to both themselves and others.

“We will also act on any intelligence or information provided to us by members of the public in relation to anyone who is believed to be driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”