A Dollingstown woman breached a probation order after she was found by police with a syringe of heroin.
Court heard the 34-year-old was now pregnant and had gone cold turkey from the Class A substance.
Elizabeth Marks, of Alfred Terrace, pleaded guilty to possession of a Class A drug and two counts of breaching a community-based order at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Prosecution outlined that on August 28, police were called to an ongoing fight on Glenmachan Road in Portadown.
Officers arrived to find four persons in the area, two of whom were males with head injuries.
All individuals were arrested and during a search a syringe of heroin and an unknown tablet were found on the defendant.
During an interview at Lurgan Custody Suite, Marks made admissions identifying the contents of the syringe as heroin and the tablet as a painkiller.
Defence barrister Aaron Thompson stated: “There is also the more serious problem of breach of probation which she got for fraud by false representation.
“What breached this was essentially the possession of heroin, an intravenous drug for which she has a problem but since then she has gone cold turkey and is pregnant.”
He continued: “To go some way of explaining the original offence, she was effectively homeless at the time and some men took advantage of her.
“They had got access to a vulnerable woman’s cheque book, they got her to go to several financial buildings to withdraw large amounts of cash. She took all the risk in this.”
Mr Thompson said: “She was driven to this. It is on that basis that she was on a probation order. I know that your worship has limited options.
“This is a lady with serious problems but she had been engaging with probation for several months prior to this.”
District Judge Amanda Brady commented: “For someone who on your account is off heroin and is pregnant, would probation not be of benefit?”
Mr Thompson stated: “It falls on your worship, there is an element of light in this case.”
The case was adjourned until February 26 to give Marks time to re-engage with probation.
