The son of football manager Harry Redknapp has been convicted of driving whilst unfit through drugs.
Mark Redknapp, 49, of Minterne Road, Poole, denied a single charge of driving a motor vehicle when the concentration of a specified drug, namely the cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine, was above the specified limit, namely 50 microgrammes per litre of blood. This is an offence contrary to section 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988. It has a maximum penalty of 6 months' custody and/or an unlimited fine on summary conviction.
Redknapp was convicted today after a trial at Poole Magistrates' Court.
District Judge Stephen Nichols heard that police had cause to stop Redknapp at 8pm on 2nd April 2018 as he was driving his vehicle, a Mercedes C63, in the Canford Cliffs suburb of Poole.
Officers noted that Redknapp's behaviour was strange and his eyes appeared droopy, so they asked him to undertake a roadside drug test. The drug swipe indicated a positive result for cocaine, which led to Redknapp's arrest and transportation to Bournemouth police station.
At the police station the father-of-four was required to provide a specimen of blood for analysis, which he claimed was taken without his consent. Subsequent analysis confirmed a concentration of 749 microgrammes of benzoylecgonine per litre of blood, which was just under fifteen times the legal limit mentioned earlier.
PC Alex Kimmins, giving evidence for the prosecution, described her interaction with Redknapp that evening.
"I went to speak to him from the front passenger seat to avoid traffic," she said.
"When I looked at him I identified some concerns which gave me suspicion to believe he was driving under the influence of a substance.
"His eyelids were very droopy and he was using his tongue to clean the inside of his mouth and teeth."
Redknapp's defence, which the judge clearly rejected, focussed on alleged procedural errors by the officers at the time of his arrest.
In particular, Redknapp denied that his eyes were droopy due to drugs, claiming instead that he had a hereditary eye problem. He also claimed that PC Kimmins took an instant dislike to him.
Redknapp's wife of 12 years, Lucy, gave evidence that on the day in question his "eyes were no different to any other day". She also denied that her husband associated with drug users.
A defence expert witness, Dr Gavin Trotter, also claimed that the roadside drug test could have shown a false positive when the officers waited in excess of the recommended time to read the drug swipe.
Dr Trotter said: "If you read the test before eight minutes you might get a false negative.
"After that point more of the sample may have flowed to the area of the device that is analysed and therefore you could get a false positive.
"Red test lines indicate a positive test and there were none after eight minutes in this case."
Judge Nichols told him: "I am satisfied that I am sure that Mr Redknapp did consume cocaine. I reject his evidence that he did not use cocaine.
"The court is therefore certain that Mr Redknapp is guilty of the offence of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs."
Redknapp was fined £5,000, ordered to pay costs of £2,500 and victim surcharge of £181.
He was also disqualified from driving for 3 years.
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