Same old, same old to some extent. But some interesting sentencing stuff, and of course one for the seatbelt files
And hope all the article is here, but it's behind a very tight paywall. So had to wade through 86 pages of code, and do lots of fiddly cutting and pasting and generally faffing about to get it all.
So if there's anything missing I make no apologies
But, as per usual, good job it's only us men who are toxic and violent, eh?
Drunken woman strangled taxi driver to unconsciousness with his seatbelt while hurling racist abusehttps://www.shropshirestar.com/news/loc ... ial-abuse/A drunken woman shouted racial abuse as she strangled a taxi driver with his own seatbelt while trying to claim the booking from another passenger.Abbie Tierney, 29, from Telford, was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court after being found guilty at a trial earlier this year of three offences in relation to the incident on November 24, 2019.
The court heard that Tierney had been drinking with a group of friends in Telford on the evening in question, and was "highly intoxicated".
Judge Recorder Marc Brown, said another man, Jamie Owen, had been finishing work and had booked a taxi to collect him.
Tierney and her friends had tried to claim the taxi, leading to what Recorder Brown said was "some confusion".
He described the situation as "escalating", with Tierney slapping Mr Owen in the face, removing his hat, and spitting at him.
Tierney then directed her rage at the taxi driver, Mohammed Afzal.
Recorder Brown said she had racially abused the driver before strangling him using his own seat belt – with Mr Afzal losing consciousness and control of the vehicle.
During the incident Tierney also damaged one of the taxi's wing mirrors.
The victims drove to Malinsgate Police Station to report the incident, and Tierney was voluntarily interviewed a day later – denying the offences.
Kevin Jones, mitigating, said it was accepted that the language used by Tierney was "disgusting".
But, at the time of the incident he said she was suffering the effects of a "highly emotional" relationship, was using "alcohol as a crutch", adding "what happened that night was the culmination of all those problems.
He said that she had "little or no memory of what happened", and was remorseful.
He said prior to the taxi incident Tierney had never been in trouble before, but accepted she had then become involved in an alleged assault on Christmas Day 2022, which resulted in her spending the night in police cells.
Mr Jones said that since then Tierney had made efforts to rehabilitate herself.
He added that she had lost her job as a result of what happened but had found herself work, to support her family.
Recorder Brown said he accepted that Tierney had taken steps to "ensure" it did not happen again.
But he said the offences were so serious that he could only impose a custodial sentence – although he was prepared to suspend it.
Tierney was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for 18 months.
But Recorder Brown said he was rejecting claims for compensation, and £4,000 in costs from the prosecution, saying: "Because I have read about your financial position and the steps you have taken to address that and your debt management plan."
He added: "Adding to that burden could jeopardise your efforts at rehabilitation, and more likely harm those that rely on you, rather than yourself."
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