JUST DESERTS
FALKIRK THUG WHO SPAT AT CABBIE IN ROW OVER CHANGE PUT UNDER CURFEW FOR TWO MONTHS
A drunken offender spat at a cabbie following a heated argument over change and was arrested after nearby
police
officers witnessed the crime. Luke Whittaker, 31, appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Thursday 15 June, having pleaded guilty to
assault – spitting at a taxi driver – in Falkirk on July 30 last year. Sheriff Alison Michie said: “The offence
which you’ve pleaded
guilty to is a particularly serious an unpleasant offence – spitting at a taxi driver who was out serving members of the public over
something truly trivial.” She placed Whittaker on a restrict- ion of liberty order, so he must remain in his home between 8pm and 7am for the next two months. He was also ordered to pay the taxi driver £250 compensation at a rate of £30 per week.
ALCOHOL FUELLED BEHAVIOUR SEES ENNISKILLEN MAN FINED FOR CRIMINAL DAMAGE TO TAXI
An Enniskillen man who damaged the windscreen of a taxi has been handed several fines. At 5.30am on November 6, 2022, police received a report that a man had refused to pay a £50 fare and had smashed the taxi’s windscreen. Police arrived and were told that Niall Patrick Johnston, 27, had gone into a nearby property. He
was escorted out and told police he was willing to pay the fare, but had no money on him, Enniskillen Magistrates Court heard on Monday 19 June. He was arrested and cautioned, and told police he did not remember what happened, but that he would pay for the fare and damage. The District Judge told Johnston
this was an assault on an employee providing a service; however, she also took into account his attempts to make reparations. Johnston was convicted of criminal damage, making off without paying, and common assault, which saw him fined a total of £300. He was also ordered to pay £100 compensation to the cabbie..
SIX AND A HALF YEAR SENTENCE FOR THUG WHO ROBBED CASTLEFORD CABBIE FOR OVERCHARGING
A thug punched a cabbie after complaining he’d been over- charge, before robbing him. Shane Price, 35, got into the cab with a woman at 3am in March last year in Castleford, and asked to be taken to Knottingley. When they arrived, Price began arguing with the driver saying the fare was overpriced. The driver contacted the taxi office where it was confirmed it was the correct price, but Price refused to get out until he got £10 back he had paid upfront. He threatened to smash the cab’s windscreen before punching the
PHTM JULY 2023
driver in the mouth and grabb- ing his dashcam. After Price got out, the cabbie rang the police who found Price in bed at an address. Price was arrested but denied he was in a taxi even after he was picked out of an ID parade by the driver. He later admitted a charge of robbery. Price, from Knottingley was also involved in a burglary in August
2020. He was seen on CCTV breaking into a building, before torching a Fiat Doblo van, and smashing the windows of another vehicle causing £3,500 worth of damage.
He has nine previous convictions for 17 offences, including robberies, wounding, arson and GBH with intent.
The judge, Recorder Anthony Kelbrick,
handed Price an
extended sentence totalling six- and-a-half years, made up of four-and-a-half years’ jail, and a two-year extended licence period.
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