RECENT cases at Taunton Magistrates' Courts include.

A SIX-month prison sentence was slapped on a homeless man after he pleaded guilty to a string of offences.

Patryk Moskalewicz, 36, was jailed for 26 weeks for possession of a a silver craft knife on Eastover, Bridgwater, on August 16 last year.

He was also found to have a lock knife on him on the same day and in the same place, for which he was given a further 26 weeks sentence to run concurrently.

The court was told that Moskalewicz has previously been in court for possessing a knife in a public place.

Moskalewicz was also banned from driving for two years for driving without insurance in Bristol Road, Bridgwater, on August 8 last year, but received no further penalty for driving without the correct licence.

He was given a two-week concurrent prison sentence and ordered to pay £300 compensation for stealing a bicycle in the town on August 16 last year.

He was handed a similar concurrent jail term for stealing a quantity of items from Saltlands Recycling Centre on August 9.

And he received another concurrent two-weeks jail term for failing to surrender to custody at the magistrates' court.

Moskalewicz received no separate penalty for possession of cannabis flowering head.

A YOUNG motorist from near Taunton has been banned from getting behind the wheel for a year after being caught drug driving.

Bradley David Bishop, 26, of Pattons, Stoke St Mary, was found to have 4.4 micrograms of cannabis per litre of blood in his system after being pulled over by police in Greenway Road, in the county town, on May 20 last year.

Bishop admitted the offence at Taunton Magistrates' Courts, where the 12-month disqualification was imposed.

He was also fined £80 and ordered to pay a £34 victim surcharge. There was no order for costs due to Bishop's "lack of manes".

He was fined a further £80 for possession of cannabis on the same day, which he also admitted, taking the total he must pay to £194.

A WEST Somerset woman has lost her licence for more than two years for drug driving.

Hannah Marie Shaw, 28, of Park Street, Dunster, was found to have 412 micrograms of the controlled drug Benzoylecgonine per litre of blood in her system after officers stopped her in Periton Lane on February 24 this year.

She was handed a 26-month driving ban and given a community order by the court after pleading guilty to the offence.

Shaw admitted a further charge of driving without insurance on September 12, 2019, for which she received a £120 fine and was ordered to pay a £90 victim surcharge. Magistrates did not impose costs due to "lack of means".

Shaw was given no separate penalty after admitting driving without the correct licence.

A BRIDGWATER man has admitted threatening a woman with a message that was intended to cause distress or anxiety.

Michael James Swietlicki, 32, of Kidsbury Road, made phone calls to the victim in breach of the Malicious Communications Act 1988.

He was fined £108 and ordered to pay a £34 victim surcharge and £85 costs when changing his plea to guilty after previously denying the offence.

A BRIDGWATER man has been ordered to pay £235 compensation to a man he assaulted by beating.

Daniel Neil Grubb, 37, of Rhode Lane, pleading guilty to attacking his victim on August 24 this year

Magistrates slapped a community order on Grubb, who must carry out 80 hours unpaid work over the next year.

He was not ordered to pay a victim surcharge as compensation takes precedence.

A MAN has admitted intentionally damaging a woman's car in Taunton.

Simon James Lee, 34, who lives in the town's Stoney Furlong, pleading guilty to committing the offence on June 28 last year.

He was fined £80 along with a £34 victim surcharge and ordered to pay the car owner £100 compensation and £85 prosecution costs.

A SHOPLIFTER who stole assorted games and toiletries has been handed a 12-month conditional discharge.

Michael Davis, of Beach Hotel, Minehead, admitted taking the items from The Co-op, in The Avenue, Minehead, on December 10 last year.

He was ordered to pay a £21 victim surcharge along with £85 prosecution costs.

A MIDDLE-aged woman has admitted entering as a trespasser a home on the Caravan Park, in East Street, Cannington, with intent to steal.

Nicola Jane Cadman, 59, of Wilkins Road, Bridgwater, was given a community order and a restraining order for the offence on March 9 last year.

She must carry out 40 hours unpaid work over the next 12 months and pay £158 compensation, as well as a £95 victim surcharge and £135 costs.