A Polish man who drove while disqualified, had no insurance, and after he failed a roadside breath test ran away from gardaí, was sentenced to six months in jail at Castlebar District Court on Wednesday.
Garda Hazel Carney stopped Bartosz Sienkewicz, 37 Castlegrove, Castlebar, on July 26 2009 at 7.30pm at a mandatory alcohol checkpoint in the Garryduff area. Sienkewicz failed the breath test and when Garda Carney went to take the keys out of the ignition the defendant absconded into a wooded area where he was not caught. A female passenger in the car had also left the scene by the time the garda returned to the car.
The vehicle was brought to Castlebar Garda station. It was registered to the female passenger who turned up the following day to claim her car. The woman was not co-operative with gardaí. However, on August 3, Sienkewicz, who was brought into the station for other matters, was recognised by Garda Carney as being the driver of the car.
Solicitor Tom Walsh said that the defendant, who has previous road traffic offences, has a young family in Ireland and has lost his job as a casual labourer.
Judge Mary Devins disqualified the defendant from driving for a total of 10 years; sentenced him to a total of six months in prison and fined him a total of €2,500.
