A disqualified driver caught behind the wheel of a vehicle in Carew has been handed a further term of imprisonment.
Twenty-four-year-old Nayef Manzi, did not attend a court hearing at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday, as his solicitor explained to the bench that the defendant was already serving a custodial sentence of three years and ten months at HM Prsion in Cardiff, for attempting to supply Class A drugs and driving whilst disqualified.
He was further charged on Tuesday with driving motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit in his blood; driving whilst disqualified; using a motor vehicle on a road/public place without third party insurance; and wilfully obstructing a police officer in the execution of their duty.
Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told the court that Mr. Manzi was stopped in his Nissan Juke car by a police officer carrying out a routine stop check on the A477 heading in the direction of Pembroke by Carew Cheriton on August 9.
‘The officer spoke to the defendant and could smell cannabis coming from the vehicle.
“The driver gave false details and said he was Kane Johnson born on 20/10/1990. He kept this lie up for some time.”
A drug swipe proved positive and the driver was arrested and taken into custody where he eventually admitted his true identity.
“He lied as he knew he was a disqualified driver,” continued Mr. Pritchard-Jones.
Mr. Manzi’s solicitor told the court that his client’s long term partner has recently given birth to their first child, and he panicked at the scene when stopped by police officers.
He explained that he had made significant mistakes in his life and although he had lived in Cardiff since the age of two, he feared being deported back to his place of birth Burundi.
Chief magistrate David Simpson said that Mr. Manzi hadn’t been the ‘easiest person to deal with’ when he had appeared in the court recently, before handing him a 16 week custodial sentence for driving whilst disqualified and with cannabis in his system.
Mr. Manzi was also given a 30 month driving disqualification and ordered to pay a £115 victim surcharge.