Former SAFC coach charged with driving whilst disqualified on same day he was banned for drink driving
He will appear at York Magistrates Court
Former Sunderland AFC coach Leroy Lita has been charged with driving whilst disqualified on the same day he was banned from the roads for drink driving.
Lita, 41, gave his address as Sunderland’s Academy of Light training ground during his drink driving hearing at South Tyneside Magistrates Court in June and last season was employed with the Black Cats as a professional development coach working with young players.
During an earlier hearing at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, Lita initially pleaded not guilty to the drink driving charge on the basis police had allegedly blundered with his breath test reading.
His solicitor said Lita believed his roadside reading for alcohol was 38mcg rather than the 74mcg recorded in an evidential test at a police station after his arrest.
Yet on the morning of June 23 he returned to South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court and changed his plea to guilty.
Lita was subsequently banned from driving for 18 months and was fined £777, with a £311 victim surcharge and £300 costs.
Speaking at the time, Judge Passfield warned him that driving while disqualified could lead to a jail term.
North Yorkshire Police subsequently confirmed that on June 23 - the same day he was banned from the roads - Lita was arrested by police officers on the A1(M) between junction 45 and 46, near Wetherby.
On the same day, he was charged with with driving while disqualified and driving without third party insurance.
York Magistrates’ Court has now confirmed that Lita is facing the two aforementioned charges and is due to appear before magistrates later this month.
Sunderland AFC have confirmed Lita is no longer employed at the club.
Lita enjoyed a 16 year professional career as striker, where he played for Reading in the Premier League, and also represented Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol City.
His drink driving conviction is after he was stopped and breathalysed by police officers as he drove in Shields Road, near Cleadon, at 11.50pm on January 18.