A dog grooming entrepreneur who passed two roadside drug tests was about to be fired by police when she blurted out that she had been taking ketamine.
Abbie Kenningley, 21, had been asked to take breath and drug tests after officers said she was driving erratically at 1am in her VW Polo after spending the night at home. of a friend.
But after they both tested negative, a suspicious officer who noticed Kenningley seemed dazed and unsteady asked her directly what she had been doing that night and she confessed: “ketamine.”
She was then arrested and back at the police station they gave her another test which showed she had almost five times the limit for the party drug.
On Friday, Kenningley, who lives on a remote farm with his parents in Banks, Southport, Merseyside, was facing a driving ban after admitting drug driving.
Abbie Kenningley, 21, had been asked to undergo breath and drug tests after officers said she was driving erratically at 1am in her VW Polo after spending the night at home. of a friend.
But after they both tested negative, a suspicious officer who noticed Kenningley seemed dazed and unsteady asked her directly what she had been doing that night and she confessed: “ketamine.”
She was then arrested and back at the police station they gave her another test which showed she had almost five times the limit for the party drug.
The incident occurred at 1.10am on Sunday, December 3 last year, when police spotted Kenningley driving his car through Southport town centre.
Alex Farrow, prosecuting, told Sefton magistrates: “The officers had stopped at a red light and next to them they could see the defendant alone in a car. She appeared dazed and stopped in front of the police car, where They then monitored his driving level.
“He seemed to be finding it difficult to stay in the lane and was swaying from side to side. There was no indication as he left the roundabout and as they continued he crossed the center white line onto the opposite carriageway and was again swaying.
‘He turned left and then completely crossed the road placing his vehicle on the opposite side of the road and the police activated their emergency lights to stop the vehicle. The vehicle stopped and she parked it at an angle on the road with the rear facing the road.
‘They asked him to get out of the vehicle. She was unsteady on his feet. She seemed lethargic, dazed and confused. She noticed that her eyes were glassy. They asked her what she had been doing and she responded “ketamine.”
Tests showed Kenningley, who runs a dog grooming business, had 96 micrograms of ketamine per 100 milliliters of blood. The legal limit is 20 mg.
The incident occurred at 1.10am on Sunday, December 3 last year when police spotted Kenningley driving his car through Southport town centre.
Tests showed Kenningley, who runs a dog grooming business, had 96 micrograms of ketamine per 100 milliliters of blood. The legal limit is 20 mg.
Her defense lawyer said in mitigation that she had never been stopped by the police before and had no previous convictions.
But in mitigation, defense lawyer Marcella Salter said: “She would not appear in court if it were not for her own confessions.” That night, the defendant stopped at an angle because she thought the police car was trying to pass her.
‘She didn’t realize the officers were trying to stop her. She spoke to officers, who believed she was unstable, to the point that they asked her for a roadside breath test. That turns out to be negative.
‘Then they saw his glassy eyes and, along with his driving, asked him for a drug wipe sample. She provided a roadside drug wipe, but that also tested negative.
“The officers then speak to the accused, who is 21 years old, who has never been stopped by the police before, has no previous convictions and no relationship with the police until the night in question, the officers ask her what she had been doing that night.
‘Obviously, there was no alcohol in his system, the drug test is clear, it is negative. The officers then ask the defendant “What have you been doing?” and by her own admission, she said that she had been at a friend’s house and had used ketamine.
“As soon as she said that, they put her under caution and took her to a police station where they asked her to provide a blood sample and they sent her out and it came back positive. “She received a court summons with the correct charge of drugged driving.
Miss Salter added: ‘The defendant does not accept that the level of driving was as described. She does not accept that she crossed the white lines and waved between the white lines, where she is on the opposite side of the road.
‘But she is sorry and this is confirmed by the reference of a social worker who has known the accused for four years. She is self-employed and a dog groomer. She has had the business for about a year. She earns £150 a week. She takes from the business as salary.
‘He lives in his parents’ house and pays for himself. She is a young woman trying to move on, not someone who appears in court regularly. No doubt the disqualification will affect her business, but she must take responsibility for what she did on the night in question.
Magistrates adjourned the case for a hearing on Newton in Liverpool in July.
