Taxi Driver Online

Darlington man 'too drunk' to remember attacking Romanian taxi driver's car


A DRUNKEN Darlington man jumped up and down on a Romanian taxi driver’s car bonnet after telling him to ‘go back to his own country’, a court heard.

Mark Simmons told police that he was too drunk to remember the incident on April 24 in which he refused to pay the taxi driver his £7 fare after hearing of his nationality.

Prosecutor Blair Martin described to Darlington Magistrates’ Court today (Tuesday, May 14) how Simmons’ kicked the taxi’s dashboard and vandalised the car once the driver stopped.

Mr Martin said: “The defendant grabs the door and pulls it back on its hinges beyond a point it would normally open and said; ‘go back to your own country’.

“The driver calls the police.

“The defendant pulls the wing mirror until it comes off; he climbs on to the vehicle and jumps up and down on it, causing damage to the bonnet.”

Mr Martin said that when a police officer arrived, Simmons asked him if he was foreign before kicking him in the thigh.

Simmons, 28, of Tunstall Terrace pleaded guilty to racially aggravated criminal damage, making off without payment and assaulting a police officer.

Mitigating, Stephen Andrews said Simmons had been “greatly affected” by the recent suicide of his cousin and had been drinking heavily.

He said Simmons now had a job and was determined to turn his life around because his partner had stopped him from seeing her two children unless he stopped drinking.

Mr Andrews said: “He (Simmons) tells me he is frankly appalled by his own conduct.

“He wishes me to stress to you he would not classify himself as somebody who has anything like racist tendencies and that is why he is so appalled by his behaviour.”

Presiding magistrate Pat Wilson adjourned the case for a probation report and Simmons will be sentenced on May 23.

source: http://www.theadvertiserseries.co.uk/ne ... ver_s_car/

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I wonder how a Migrant Darlington Taxi driver would fair working in Romania ?

Ermmm not very good.

he used the same excuse when he got caught with ten ton tessa

Darlington man jumped up and down on taxi car bonnet


A MAN who admitted racially aggravated criminal damage after he jumped up and down on a Romanian taxi driver’s car has been sentenced in court.

Darlington Magistrates’ Court heard today (Thursday, May 23) that 29-year-old Mark Simmons got into a taxi outside the Turks Head pub in Bondgate on April 26 but was so drunk that the driver Adrian Nistor could not understand him when he gave his address.

Simmons demanded to know where Mr Nistor was from and after hearing that he was Romanian he kicked the dashboard and told Mr Nistor that he would not be getting paid his £7 fare.

Mr Nistor stopped the car and phoned the police, while Simmons vandalised the vehicle by pulling back the passenger door, tugging at the wing mirror and jumping up and down on the bonnet.

Prosecutor Lynne Dalton said: “He (Mr Nistor) was unable to finish his shift because of the incident; he feared for his personal safety.”

In a statement summarised in court, Mr Nistor said: “This was a normal journey, however, when he found out my nationality he clearly changed; I believe he had a problem with this.”

When a police officer arrived at the scene, Simmons asked him whether he was foreign before kicking him in the leg.

At an earlier hearing, Simmons pleaded guilty to racially aggravated criminal damage, making off without paying the taxi fare and to assaulting a police officer.

In mitigation he told the court that he was “appalled” by his behaviour and did not consider himself to be a racist.

The court had also heard that Simmons had been drinking too much as he struggled to cope with the suicide of a close cousin.

Presiding magistrate Rajeev Devgan told Simmons that the racial element lifted the criminal damage offence into a tougher sentencing band.

After reading a probation report on Simmons, Mr Devgan went along with its recommendations and imposed a 12-month community order including supervision and completion of a thinking skills programme.

Simmons, of Tunstall Terrace, Darlington, was also told to pay a total of £427 in compensation and court charges.

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/1 ... sentenced/

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

£427 that wont fix car fully