Banned motorist took boss’s van without permission to get lunch

 20th June 2022

A GARAGE worker caught driving without insurance had taken his boss’s van out without permission to go and get lunch.

Intars Danbis (40) was already banned from driving when he took the van on a “whim”, a court heard.

Judge Bryan Smyth gave him a three-month suspended sentence, banned him from driving for four years and fined him €400.

Danbis, a father-of-two from The Square, Riverview, Drogheda, Co Louth, pleaded guilty to uninsured and unlicenced driving.

Dublin District Court heard gardaí at the Finglas Road on April 23 stopped Danbis driving a van after seeing him texting.

When his details were ascertained, they transpired to be false and he was arrested.

Danbis had a previous conviction for uninsured driving and had been banned for two years.

He had been working all day and needed to get some lunch so he took his boss’s car without permission to go and get food.

It was done on “a whim” and the accused, who was “hard-working” was very apologetic, his solicitor Evan Moore said.

He asked Judge Smyth not to jail Danbis, saying he had a family to support.