Defendant got drunk after arriving at Leeds court for sentencing
A defendant due to be sentenced on a drugs charge had to have his hearing adjourned after getting drunk while waiting for his case to start.
Abdul Kyium apparently turned up at Leeds Crown Court sober, was interviewed by probation and spoke with his barrister without issue.
But when the 38-year-old’s case was called on just a few hours later, the judge noticed he could hardly walk straight coming into court, then questioned whether he was asleep in the dock.
Judge Simon Batiste adjourned the case until October 8, and suggested Kyium needed to be remanded in custody until then.
He said: “I’m concerned if he is in a state to be sentenced today. I watched him come in and he does not look with it.
“I can see he is drunk just by looking at him.”
A probation officer told the judge that Kyium was lucid when he was interviewed at 8.30am that day, while his barrister, Lea Levine, said he was fine during their conversation thereafter.
When the case was called on just after 11.30am, Ms Levine said that Kyium assured her that he had stopped drinking.
Judge Batiste asked her to speak with him again briefly, and when she returned from the dock she conceded he was now clearly under the influence.
Judge Batiste said: “People who attend court in an unfit state is just as bad a not attending.
“Whatever he has taken, it has impacted on him since 8.30am. I can’t be satisfied he would follow what is happening.”
He ordered he be held on remand until his next court appearance.
Kyium, of Bradford Road, Dewsbury, is facing a charge related to possession of cannabis.