Taxi Driver Online

Drunken man drove off in Norwich taxi

21/08/2010 15:38:00

A drunken man who forced a city taxi driver to get out of his vehicle after threatening him with a baseball bat - and then drove off in his car - has been ordered to pay the driver £100 compensation.

John Mills, 26, was picked up by the taxi driver in Unthank Road and he asked to be taken to Philadelphia Lane, New Catton.

But Norwich Crown Court heard that on the journey he kept muttering to himself and suddenly produced a baseball bat from his trousers and threatened driver Thomas Smith.

Martin Ivory, prosecuting, said that the driver was worried he was going to be attacked.

He said that Mills threatened Mr Smith telling him to get out of the vehicle or he would “bat him”.

Mr Ivory said: “Mr Smith got out of the vehicle and Mills was holding the bat and shouting as if he was about to hit him.”

He left the engine running and the keys in the ignition and Mills had then got into the driver seat and drove off in the vehicle.

“The complainant went to the police station to report what had happened.”

Mills was arrested and admitted taking the car and a bag of change, which Mr Smith kept in the car, was also found to be missing.

Mills of Portland Street, Norwich admitted having an offensive weapon, theft and taking a vehicle without consent.

He was jailed for 12 months suspended for 18 months and ordered to pay Mr Smith £100 compensation.

He was also made subject to a supervision order under which he will get help for his drinking as he is already on an alcohol treatment programme.

Stephen Spence, for Mills, said: “This is a man whose offending is fuelled by alcohol. It is quite plain he was very drunk.”

He said that by suspending his sentence Mills could seek help for his drinking.

Source; eveningnews24.co.uk

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Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
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A very very very poor sentence!

1) Carrying a weapon.
2) Threatening to use the weapon.
3) Stealing a car.

All yours for £100 ................What a very stupid Judge

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

Please don't assume a suspended sentence is a poor option. It is not.

And the £100 compensation is only £100 (I guess) because that's all the driver claimed for. If he had claimed more, then he would have got it.

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IDFIMH

I doubt it courts usually are very stingy with compensation and I agree 12 months for what is effectively an armed robbery is ludicrously lenient

Really?

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IDFIMH

Enlighten me! ?

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if you cannot be yourself, then who can you be.

perhaps he should have been suspended, not his sentence.

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My heart is heavy, but my consience clear,
I voted Yes, without any fear.

By suspending the sentance the chap can still have access to alcohol. In prison, that would be more difficult. Don't they have help in prison for people with addictions?

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Grandad,

If he was imprisoned he would be out in five months.

And his suspended sentence can be activated at any time during the next 12 months, should he re-offend.

I think the stats indicate that if people stay out of trouble for 6 months+, then most stay out of trouble for life.

So the question is do we, as a society, want to stop him re-offending, or are we happy with the punish/re-offend circle going on for good?

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IDFIMH

I would love to see the statistics for the number of people on a suspended sentance that actually get the suspension revoked and get sent down.

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Grandad,

The same help is also outside of prison.

With the 12 months suspended sentence would be a supervison requirement which means he must keep in regular, possibly weekly, contact with probation.

I also suspect a requirement to attend drink/drug rehabilitation programme was part of the sentence/supervision.

If he fails to attend those, then he will go to jail.

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IDFIMH

Send a FoI to the Ministry of Justice.

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IDFIMH

He was already on a programme Sussex and he still didn't go to prison. What good is probation? No one takes a blind bit of notice. They consider probation the same as getting off. You need to take those rose tinted spectacles off and see the real world.

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Grandad,

Then that's the reason he didn't go straight to jail.

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IDFIMH

Clearly the existing programme isn't working though. Also why was he already on a programme? My guess would be that the courts put him on it previously under a suspended sentance.

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Grandad,