A KNIFE-WIELDING taxi driver who flipped his car whilst carrying passengers has been convicted of reckless driving and brandishing a bladed weapon in public.
Ronald Fones, 64, of Howdenburn Court, Jedburgh, who stood trial this week at Peebles Sheriff Court, denied each of the charges against him relating to the incident which occurred on the A72 outside Walkerburn on November 7 last year.
The court heard how, Euan Forsyth, 22, Dean Wood, 23 and Marcus Thomson, 21, all from Peebles, got into Fones' taxi after a night out in Galashiels and requested a lift back to Peebles.
However, a dispute over the fare in Walkerburn gave rise to a bizarre sequence of events, which saw the 64-year-old driver pulling a knife; Mr Thomson being hurled from the cab and dragged along the road for 15 metres and the Ford Mondeo car ending up on to its roof.
Mr Forsyth, a trainee mechanic, told the court how the journey began for him and his two friends after a night clubbing in Galashiels, when they paid Fones £30 upfront to be taken the 18 miles back to Peebles.
He said: "It was a totally normal taxi ride until we got to Walkerburn, then he demanded another £30 and we told him no way.
"An argument broke out and he ended up pulling a knife.
"He then pulled into a layby and told us to get out but as Marcus attempted to step out he pulled away again, back in the direction of Galashiels."
Mr Thomson, a farmer. told the court: "I was left hanging on, half in and out of the car as he sped away. Euan was trying to pull me back in but eventually after about 15 metres I couldn't hang on anymore and fell out onto the road clutching Euan's shoe. I suffered a fair few cuts and bruises and had a sore hip for a while after it."
The third passenger, Mr Wood, an apprentice stonemason, meanwhile, told the court how Fones came to flip the car.
He said: "After a few seconds, Marcus fell out onto the road, Euan closed the door and we began shouting at him to stop and asking him what he thought he was doing.
"He just put his foot down and next thing he clipped the banking. It all gets a bit hazy after that."
A passing ambulance was immediately on the scene and all four escaped unharmed.
In his defence, Fones claimed to never have received a £30 payment upfront from the trio and that the argument only broke out when they began telling him they had paid. He also denied having any knowledge of Mr Thomson falling from the car, as it was a dark night.
The former soldier did, however, admit to having a knife in the car. He claimed to have used it in his work with pheasants but kept it stowed away either in the pocket of his driver's door or under his seat.
He offered no explanation as to how the three youths would have come to know of its existence but did admit that the journey was perfectly normal until Walkerburn.
Speaking of the moment before the car overturned he said: "I set off back to Galashiels and then felt an arm come around my throat andalso felt the handbrake go up. The back of the car then swung out and we hit the banking. The next thing I remember is blue lights coming from behind."
Defence witness Ian Scott, 55, a taxi driver colleague of Fones, then told the court how it was common practice for all taxi drivers to accept payment before travelling to Peebles with drunken revellers on a weekend night.
He said: "Nine times out of ten they will attempt to do a runner. It's therefore best to get the money first."
Finding Fones guilty, Sheriff Kevin Drummond said: "Something changed the character of this taxi journey, Mr Fones by his own admission admits that the three witnesses were perfectly okay until the car reached Walkerburn. I'm entirely sure that it was the production of a knife which changed the character of this journey.
"I find the three witnesses entirely credible, while no explanation has been offered by the accused for the production of the knife.
"This is a serious matter and I will therefore defer sentence until May 25 to allow for the completion of social inquiry and community service reports."
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