Uninsured driver caught behind wheel in Mansfield with false ID card risked prison
An uninsured driver who was caught behind the wheel in Mansfield with a false identity document ran the risk of a prison sentence.
Emmanuel Egboigbe was arrested in relation to another offence after he was stopped in a grey BMW on Regent Street, on August 9, said Nicola Patten, prosecuting.
When he was taken to the police station suspicions arose that he wasn't who he claimed to be.
He was carrying a German identity document in a different name with a different birth date and the car was registered to someone else living at his address.
Egboigbe initially claimed he had changed his name to his father's family name when he came to the UK and the embassy must have made a mistake regarding the date of birth.
Nottingham Crown Court heard he has never passed a driving test and has five previous convictions for 11 offences.
The majority of them are driving offences. He was banned for 18 months for failing to provide a specimen.
"He is not in the UK unlawfully," said Ms Patten. "He used the document to drive and obtain employment. This offending falls toward the lower end of the scale."
Matt Hayes, mitigating, said: "He understands he has put himself at risk of an immediate custodial sentence. I am going to invite your Honour to take an alternative course by suspending that sentence. This is not a case where he has used the document to breach immigration control."
He said Egboigbe was working as a carer to financially support his children who are at university in Germany.
"He has left his job and is now selling his possessions to make ends meet," added Mr Hayes.
Egboigbe, aged 51, of Main Street, Huthwaite, admitted possessing a false document, and driving without a licence or insurance.
On Thursday Judge James Sampson said the probation reports about him made "powerful reading" and he was “just persuaded” to suspend a four month prison sentence for 21 months.
He ordered Egboigbe to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and made a 12 month mental health treatment requirement. He banned him from driving for 12 months.
"You have been given a golden chance today," the judge told him. "Take it, don't squander it."