JUST DESSERTS
DUNFERMLINE TAXI FARE-DODGER HIT IN THE POCKET
A taxi passenger who twice refused to pay his fare has found himself
in
court. The Dunfermline Press reports that Mark McPhee, 27, from Dunfermline, appeared in the dock at Dunfermline
Sheriff Court. He ran up fares of more than £150 in two journeys planning to dodge paying. He admitted that last March, he ob- tained the hire of a taxi without paying nor intending to pay the fare of £70. Last
October, he also obtained the hire of a taxi without pay- ing nor intending to pay the fare of £81. Sheriff Craig McSh- erry fined McPhee £640 and ordered him to pay £151 compensation to the taxi firms.
MAN JAILED FOR TAXI DRIVER ROBBERY IN SHEFFIELD
A man has been locked up for over five years after ad- mitting to robbery and possession of an offensive weapon. The Star
reports
that Arron Ham- mond, 27, threat- ened a Sheffield taxi driver with a screw- driver after getting into a taxi in April. DC Matt Welsh said: “Soon after Ham- mond got into the
taxi, he pulled out a screwdriver, threat- ened the driver. and demanded
cash
whilst pointing the weapon at him. He fled with £150 in cash - thankfully the driver was uninjured. “Thanks to the driv- er
reporting the
incident quickly we were able to identify Hammond through his phone records. He was arrested,
charged and remand- ed into custody just three days later.” DC Welsh added: “This was a traumat- ic and distressing incident for the driv- er and I’d like to praise him in coming forward and speak- ing to us. We need taxi drivers to report anything like this, so that we can act on it efficiently and iden- tify those involved.”
ALCOHOLIC STOLE HUDDERSFIELD DRIVER’S CAR AND CRASHED IT
An alcoholic who stole a taxi driver’s car and crashed it into two vehicles has been jailed. The Huddersfield Ex- aminer reports that Graham Whitehead, 35, took the victim’s car last November. Leeds Crown Court heard that the de- fendant was drunk and arguing with a woman when the taxi arrived and smashed a pint glass on the ground before getting in. He punched the dashboard in the car and told the driver
30
he was not getting paid and to give him his money. The vic- tim got out of his car and the defen- dant got into the driver’s seat and drove off in it. Whitehead crashed into a woman’s car and then collided with a nearby park- ed taxi before get- ting out of the car and being arrested. Whitehead,
from
Dewsbury, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, dan- gerous
driving,
driving without a licence and insur-
ance, and failing to provide a specimen. He has 43 previous convictions for 67 offences. Whitehead
was
jailed for 16 months and disqualified from driving for three years eight months. Mmmm… Why on earth did that driver even entertain pick- ing these people up in the first place??! Everybody in the trade knows that any driver – HC or PH – can refuse a customer if the driv- er feels he’s putting himself at risk. – Ed.
CHESHIRE MAN JAILED FOR RACIALLY ASSAULTING TAXI DRIVER
A Cheshire man has been jailed for nine months for racially assaulting and abus- ing a taxi driver. CheshireLive reports that Mark Stephen Davies, 32,
from
Runcorn appeared at Chester Crown Court on August 23 to be sentenced
after pleading guilty to racially aggravat- ed assault and criminal damage. In March a Hungari- an taxi driver col- lected Davies and a woman from an address in Widnes. When they stopped in Runcorn Davies objected to the price
and paying the toll fee. An argument between him and the taxi driver ensued. Davies then became racially abusive to- ward the taxi driver and assaulted him. He also smashed a window and the driver’s wing mirror before running off.
JAIL FOR NORWICH MAN WHO SMASHED WINDOW TO AVOID FARE
A man who smash- ed a taxi window and leapt out to avoid a £20 fare has been jailed for 11 weeks. The Eastern Daily Press reports that Thomas Barlow, 28, got into the taxi with another man last February before asking to be taken to various locations around Norwich.
After sleeping for part of the journey, Barlow tried to escape the cab and threatened the driv- er when he realised they couldn’t pay. Finding the doors locked, he tried to pay £6 before smashing one of the windows and running away. Police found Barlow 400 metres away with a cut on
his hand. Magistrates activat- ed five weeks of a ten-week suspended sentence and also jailed him for six weeks consecutively for criminal damage and making off with- out payment. He had to pay £195 compensation for the broken window and £20.80 for the taxi fare.
MIDDLESBROUGH DRIVER SUFFERED BLEED ON THE BRAIN
A man punched a taxi driver with such force it caused a bleed on his brain, a court heard. According to the Northern
Echo,
Michael Robinson, 38, was spared jail after attacking the man last November in Middlesbrough. The prosecutor said: “The victim was parked in a taxi rank and he saw the defendant approach the windows of the taxis in front then tried to get into his taxi but the door was
locked. He
shouted ‘pick me up’ and tried to open the door. He then walked to the other side where a pas- senger was sitting. The victim kept try- ing to explain he already had a pas- senger. “He punched the victim twice in the face, before a num- ber of other drivers came to his aid.” Mr Harley said the victim suffered blurred vision due to a bleed on the brain as well as a black eye, cut lip and frac- tured cheek bone.
As a result he was forced to take four weeks off work, which were unpaid, and now refuses to pick customers up at night due to fear and anxiety. Robinson, from Mid- dlesbrough, pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodi- ly harm and posses- sion of cannabis. He was handed a 35- week sentence sus- pended for
18
months, ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and attend 15 rehabilita- tion days.
OCTOBER 2019
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