A soldier from Dornoch has been handed his marching orders from driving after admitting to getting behind the wheel of his car while drunk.
Jake McLaughlin, a serving officer, had been driving on Elgin’s West Road at about 11.35pm on February 28 this year when he was spotted by police pulling into a petrol station.
Fiscal depute Shay Treanor told Elgin Sheriff Court this week that McLaughlin, 21, admitted he had been drinking as soon as the constables questioned him.
“He said he had consumed alcohol a couple of hours prior,” he said.
Conviction will not end military career
McLaughlin’s defence agent, Robert Cruickshank, said he had never been in trouble before and that his superior officers endorsed his “good conduct”.
He added that McLaughlin, who has served in the armed forces for four years, would not be dismissed from the armed forces as a result of his conviction.
“He appears before you as a first offender,” Mr Cruickshank explained.
“He acknowledges he made a mistake, he should not have done it.
“To his credit, he was compliant with police. This is out of character, having not been in trouble before.
“I have been told his ongoing career is not in jeopardy because of this.”
The soldier had returned a reading of 81mg per 100ml of breath – more than three times the legal limit – when tested on the night he was arrested.
Overseeing the case, Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov told McLaughlin that he would be banned from the roads for 12 months, but could reduce the length of that by a quarter if he successfully completed a drink-driving rehabilitation programme.
She also fined him £1,350.