Kildare court: Allenwood's Troy Jordan, who has 14 previous convictions, jailed for five months
An Allenwood resident with 14 previous convictions was sentenced to five months in custody over an offence of driving with no insurance.
Troy Jordan, with an address at Blackthorn Cottage in Allenwood South, Kildare, was found guilty of driving with no valid insurance at the Prosperous Road in Clane on August 26, 2020.
The 51-year-old was cross-examined by gardaí, while gardaí were cross-examined by the defendant's barrister, Aisling Murphy.
A garda told the court said that when asked about who owned the car, Mr Jordan said that it belonged to a man named David Stewart.
He also said that the defendant told him that the insurance policy only covered the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, but not the Republic of Ireland.
CROSS EXAMINATION
During cross examination, Ms Murphy pointed out that the garda who stopped her client failed to notify him of why he was being stopped.
She also questioned why the garda didn't try to follow up with UK authorities or the insurance company, Diamond Insurance, about details regarding the case.
The garda replied that he did try to contact the insurance company numerous times, but was unable to get through to them.
"Anytime my call did go through, I was met with an automatic message," he explained.
Another garda added: "Sometimes garda emails get missed by the UK police too."
When he took to the stand, Mr Jordan insisted that he tried to provide proof of his insurance to gardaí a few days later, but they didn't accept it from him.
He also said that the gardaí at the time provided no valid explanation for why they refused his insurance.
The defendant was also accompanied by Philip Johnson, a man who said he loaned Mr Jordan the vehicle while he carried out works on his regular vehicle.
Mr Johnson insisted that he believed that his documents covered him, but Judge Desmond Zaidan expressed doubts that this was the case.
However, Mr Johnson insisted that all of the documents he provided to the court was correct.
"Of course I have a valid policy: I’m holding it my hand right now," he added.
DOUBTS
The judge added that he had "serious reservations" with Mr Johnson's version of events.
"Are you sure you're not just covering for a friend?" the judge asked Mr Johnson, who replied that he only knew Mr Jordan in a professional capacity.
In addition, the garda who cross-examined the defendant said that Mr Jordan was in contravention of Section 56, sub-section 4 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961. This in turn relates to a demand made under section 69 of the Act.
"Mr Jordan has failed to show that they were permitted to drive, and none of the documents which have been provided to allay that fear," the garda said.
The court was also told that the defendant had 14 previous convictions, all for minor road traffic offences.
JUDGE'S DECISION
After consideration, Judge Zaidan said that he did not accept that Mr Jordan was insured to drive the vehicle.
He explained: "The court must apply common sense to the allegations before it, and take a realistic approach to the factual evidence. It is as clear as daylight that the conditions outlined in the policy provided to the court have not been met, and do not afford insurance to Troy Jordan."
Judge Zaidan further said that he was "satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt" that Mr Jordan was uninsured at the time.
"You have to give the man some credit, he did try," he added.
The judge sentenced Mr Jordan to five months in custody, and also imposed a four-year driving disqualification on Mr Jordan.