‘Crazy Em,’ a mother of three, was discovered driving at 11 a.m. after a night of cocaine consumption and was found to be 11 times above the legal limit. She was given a driving prohibition.
More than 13 hours after ingesting the narcotic with her partner while her kids were being watched by a babysitter, Emily Stopforth, 29, of Merseyside, was pulled over in her grey BMW X5.
She tested positive for residues of both cocaine and cannabis, with one sample revealing she had 560 micrograms of benzoylecgonine, a cocaine derivative, per litre of blood.
The permitted dosage is 50mg.
Stopforth, of Hesketh Bank, Merseyside, who identified herself on Facebook as “Crazy Em,” admitted to drug use last week but said she was unaware that cocaine’s breakdown product would still be present in her body.
The court sentenced Stopforth £180 for drugged driving and mandated that she pay £119 in costs and victim surcharge. Additionally, they suspended her for a minimum of 12 months “because to the mitigating circumstances.”
She said that she required a vehicle in order to drive her two children, ages 11 and 7, to and from school. She had a toddler as her third child.
“On February 9th, just before 11am, officers observed the defendant’s grey BMW X5”, the prosecutor, Scott Woodward, told Sefton JPs.
The front seat passenger’s fidgeting was observed by the officers, and they ordered the vehicle to halt.
When the officers opened the car door, they could smell cannabis emanating from within; as a result, a search under the Misuse of Drugs Act was carried out.
“The offender was requested to submit to a roadside drug wipe test, which revealed cocaine and cannabis in the sample.
As a result, she was taken into prison and a blood sample was taken.
The legal limit for benzoylecgonine is 50 micrograms per litre of blood, and the readings were not less than 560 micrograms.
She has a history of being a kind person.
In an effort to be kind, Stopforth’s attorney Amanda Sheppard stated: “At the end of January, her mother had been diagnosed with hepatic sclerosis and given a two-year life prognosis.
A few weeks later, she went off the rails a bit and occasionally used cocaine. Shortly after this, she overdosed and wound up in A&E.
She did use cocaine on a night out with her lover, Miss Sheppard continued. She had three kids and rarely went out; she was in bed by ten o’clock.
She didn’t realise the cocaine she had the previous night would still be in her system.
She didn’t know the effects of how it would linger in her system for several days after that because she doesn’t generally use alcohol and drugs frequently.
She is her family’s lone driver. Three kilometres from her home, she has children who are 11, 7, and 2 years old.
Miss Sheppard said that her client’s loss of driving privileges would also have an impact on other family members, including her terminally ill mother and other dependents.
This poor decision-making would affect not only her but also her family members.
It will be disappointing because many people are depending on her, the lawyer added.
She is utterly ashamed of what she did and the effect it will have on her family.
“The annoying thing is that there was someone else in the car.” Cocaine is not the substance; it is benzoylecgonine.
It is a byproduct of the drug’s breakdown and is a derivative of the one she took the previous night.
Given the effect this will already have on her and her other family members, “I beg you for the minimum ban.”
The court sentenced Stopforth £180 for drugged driving and mandated that she pay £119 in costs and victim surcharge.
Additionally, they suspended her for a minimum of 12 months “because to the mitigating circumstances.”
“We have carefully considered all that has been mentioned today, and we will deal with you by way of a financial punishment,” chairwoman Angela McIntyre declared.
With everything that has occurred, “It was an expensive cocaine hit.” I wouldn’t even try to do it again.