Chancer driver gave a fake name to cops

Motorist’s lies unravelled after he was stopped by police

A lying motorist who gave a false name when stopped by the cops, has narrowly avoided a jail sentence.

Chancer Paul Quinn, 47, was caught tearing along Stow Brae in the town in his girlfriend’s Suzuki Swift hatchback on May 6, when he claimed to police he was actually another bloke, named Kenneth McLachlan.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard Quinn of Macdowall Street, Johnstone, even provided a false date of birth to officers in pretending to be Mr McLachlan, in an attempt to avoid getting rumbled for driving without a licence or insurance.

Fiscal depute Pamela Flynn told the court: “Police travelling on mobile patrol followed the vehicle because of its speed and signalled the driver to stop.

“The accused was the sole occupant of the vehicle and was asked to provide his details where he said he was Kenneth John McLachlan and said he was born February 29, 1972 and gave his address as Gallowhill Road in Paisley.

“Police carried out checks on the vehicle which showed the vehicle was registered to a different person.”

The court heard officers then asked the accused to provide ID and documentation to support his claims, where he told the cops he didn’t have any identification on him.

At that point officers detained Quinn and took him to the address in Paisley he originally provided where his story unravelled further.

He was then taken to the police station at Mill Street where further checks proved he didn’t even have a driving licence and wasn’t insured to be driving.

Yesterday, Quinn pleaded guilty to charges of driving without a licence, driving without insurance and a more serious charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice, by knowingly providing a false name to police officers.

Defence agent Amy Spencer appealed to Sheriff Susan Sinclair not to lock up her client for his stupidity but give him credit appropriate for his early admission of guilt.

She said: “I would ask not to send him to custody.

“He knows he was caught and for some stupid reason he gave a false name to police.

“That is the most serious charge.

“It was an excuse because he was driving his girlfriend’s car and he wasn’t the person he originally said he was.”

Ms Spencer added jobless Quinn had kept out of trouble since 2013, but had an analogous offence dating from 2006, and she urged the court to hand him a non-custodial disposal.

Sheriff Sinclair told Quinn it was a “serious matter in attempting to pervert the course of justice.”

She added: “You have come perilously close to going back to jail. However, I am prepared to deal with it by imposing a monetary fine which I will convert to a community payback order involving unpaid work.”

The accused was banned from driving or obtaining a licence for one year and ordered to perform 100 hours unpaid work for the benefit of the community.