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30 Mar 2026

Intoxication level of man was so high breathalyser was unable to return accurate reading

The legal limit for driving with alcohol in breath is 35mgs of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, but the limit of the defendant Patrick Kelly, 25, from Northland Road was so high that when he blew into the device he was in excess of five times over the limit

Rowdy scenes at Derry Magistrate's Court as anti lock down protesters disrupted proceedings

Derry Magistrates' Court

Reporter:

Court Reporter

30 Mar 2026 1:33 PM

Email:

news@derrynow.com

A police officer told the Magistrates' Court in Derry today that so great was the intoxication level of a local man when he was breathalysed at the weekend that the breathalyser device was unable to return an accurate reading.
A police officer told District Judge Oonagh Mullan that he believed the device can only go as high as 199mgs but in this case 'his alcohol level in his breath was so high that he exceeded that limit to such an extent that no reading could be recorded'. 
The legal limit for driving with alcohol in breath is 35mgs of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, but the limit of the defendant Patrick Kelly, 25, from Northland Road was so high that when he blew into the device he was in excess of five times over the limit.
"His reading was so high that it was still rising when the device's limit was reached", the officer said.
The defendant was arrested last Saturday afternoon, March 28, when members of a police mobile patrol responded to reports of an alleged theft and criminal damage in the Buncrana Road area of the city.
The defendant was stopped by the police because he matched the description of the alleged perpetrator.
The court heard Kelly was one of two men stopped and he had a bottle of Vodka in his hand at the time and there was a strong smell of alcohol from him and police believed he was clearly intoxicated.
The officer said as part of his bail conditions an alcohol ban was imposed on Kelly but he said it was clear he has not got the message on how important it is to adhere to bail conditions. 
He added this was his fifth breach of bail for these offencesand he has 41 previous convictions and police believe there was a risk of him re-offending and of breaching his bail.
Applying for bail defence barrister Stephen Chapman said the defendant had spent six months in custody before his recent release on bail. He said since the alleged offending last July the police have been trying to organise an identification line-up but that has not yet taken place.
Bail was refused and the defendant was remanded in custody until April 20.

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