Taxi Driver Online

The charges etc were reported in an earlier thread:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=35438&p=407569

But who'd have guessed that whatever happened arose out of a row with a passenger that got out of hand

Happened more than four years and four months ago.


East Kilbride man Craig Kearney called murder accused cabbie 'specky' before death

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/194 ... cky-death/

A MAN called a taxi driver "specky" before being allegedly murdered by a cabbie, a trial heard today.

Craig Kearney is said to have been mowed down by Derek McClinton in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on March 5, 2017.

Prosecutors claim McClinton hit the 24 year-old with his car, knocked him to the ground before driving over his head and body.

It is alleged the 51 year-old then failed to get medical help and left Craig lying injured on the road in the dark.

Mr Kearney's girlfriend Olivia Geraghty, 28, told jurors at the High Court in Glasgow that the pair had been out with friends in the city centre celebrating her birthday.

The customer services manager stated that they got a taxi home to East Kilbride after 1am.

Prosecutor Liam Ewing QC asked what happened on the journey.

She said: "I remember me and my friends talking in the back and Craig being quite cheeky to the driver.

"I remember him saying specky which I consider to be quite cheeky."

Mr Ewing then questioned if the driver wore glasses and the witness replied: "Yes, the driver wore glasses."

Miss Geraghty said the driver didn't react to the name and dropped her friend Megan McKenna off who lived nearby.

She said: "When we were letting Megan out it began to get quite heated in the taxi between Craig and the driver.

"I remember Craig saying something like 'that was you that said that?' I can't remember word for word."

Miss Geraghty stated she decided to leave the taxi and walk home as she thought there was going to be an "escalation."

Mr Ewing asked if she was able to pay the driver.

She said: "I went to pay the money and he jumped out the taxi, I don't know if the money dropped in the taxi.

"I don't know what happened to that money as I didn't have all the money and had to ask Craig for money.

"Craig and the driver started to go round the taxi as if they wanted to fight."

Mr Ewing asked if Mr Kearney did anything to the taxi and Miss Geraghty replied: "Not that I can recall, no."

McClinton, also of East Kilbride, faces a separate charge of then attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The includes a claim he did “continue in the course of (his) employment as a private hire taxi driver” in the car afterwards.

This is said to have allowed “video footage” taken by a device in the vehicle to be erased.

The charge also states McClinton did wash the car in “an attempt to destroy evidence”.

McClinton denies both charges.

The trial continues before judge Lord Armstrong.

Craig Kearney murder accused 'wanted to fight' East Kilbride man

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/194 ... bride-man/

A TAXI driver looked like he wanted to "fight" the man he is accused of murdering, a court heard today.

Derek McClinton, 51, allegedly killed Craig Kearney, 24, by mowing him down before running over his head and body March 5, 2017.

Mr Kearney's girlfriend Olivia Geraghty, 28, told jurors at the High Court in Glasgow that the pair and friends had taken McClinton's taxi from the city centre after a night out.

It was earlier claimed by Ms Geraghty that Mr Kearney had repeatedly called McClinton "specky" during the journey.

The witness today claimed McClinton and Mr Kearney were involved in an argument after dropping a friend off.

Prosecutor Liam Ewing QC put a police statement Ms Geraghty gave on the day of the incident.

It read: "Craig went towards the back of the taxi and they were still arguing and shouting at each other as if both of them wanted to start fighting.

"There was no physical contact and the car was always between them.

"I can't remember the words exactly but I thought there was going to be a fight.

"It was like the driver wanted to fight, he jumped out the taxi but once they got out they both moved round the car as if there was going to be a fight."

Mr Ewing asked: "Was this the truth?" and Ms Geraghty replied: "Yes."

Ms Geraghty told the court she pulled Mr Kearney and burst his shirt before the pair walked away from the taxi.

She claimed that McClinton continued to follow them as they walked home.

Ms Geraghty stated she then paid McClinton for a possible second time when Mr Kearney went to do the toilet at a garage.

The witness alleged McClinton continued to keep tabs on them after the payment.

She said: "He mentioned something about the police and mentioning he knew where my friend stayed."

Ms Geraghty stated she then walked past Mr Kearney, went home and locked the door.

Mr Ewing asked what Mr Kearney was doing the last time she saw him and she replied: "The last time I saw him he was standing near the garage.

"He was two or three car lengths away from the taxi."

Mr Ewing asked if Ms Geraghty walked home alone and she replied: "Yes, I thought Craig might have followed me but he wasn't."

Ms Geraghty went to sleep before being woke up by her mum before 5am.

Mr Ewing said: "You heard Craig was found on the street and the police were making inquiries about that."

Ms Geraghty replied: "Yes."

McClinton's QC Donald Findlay asked if Ms Geraghty headed off because she was fed up with Mr Kearney's "carry on."

She said: "He wasn't behind me and I just assumed he would have been taken by the police."

It was put to Ms Geraghty that Mr Kearney and McClinton also had an argument over a seatbelt but the witness stated she couldn't remember.

Mr Findlay asked if Mr Kearney had ripped McClinton's taxi meter and kicked the car.

She again replied "No."

Ms Geraghty also stated that she felt scared of McClinton.

Mr Findlay said: "Your big strapping boyfriend was a foot away and Mr McClinton was on his own.

"Who is more scared, a family man confronted by a stranger or you."

She replied: "If he continued [to follow her walking route] I would be scared."

McClinton, also of East Kilbride, faces a separate charge of then attempting to pervert the course of justice.

He denies both charges.

The trial continues before Lord Armstrong.

Craig Kearney: Witness tells trial of finding him lying in road

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/194 ... ying-road/

A MURDER trial witness told how he found a man allegedly killed by a taxi driver lying dying on the road.

Josh Potter, 30, recalled Craig Kearney stricken, bleeding and appearing to be choking.

Jurors today heard how mercy crews tried for more than 20 minutes to save the 24-year-old, but he never recovered.

Derek McClinton is on trial at the High Court in Glasgow charged with murdering Mr Kearney in the early hours of March 5, 2017 in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire.

Prosecutors claim the 51-year-old struck him with his vehicle before running over his head and body.

Mr Potter told how he was returning home with his wife when they spotted a body.

The heating engineer said: "My wife noticed him first...he appeared to be lying on the middle of the road on his back."

The witness immediately called 999 and tried to get something to stem the blood.

Mr Potter: "He was bleeding from behind his head from what I could see."

He told prosecutor Liam Ewing QC there were no obvious injuries but added: "His eyes and mouth were open, it was like he was choking on blood or fluid in his mouth."

Mr Potter pinched his hand but "got nothing back at all."

The witness stated a nurse - who had been in a passing taxi - also tended to Mr Kearney with CPR carried out.

Mr Potter said a wallet was found in Mr Kearney's pocket to try and identify him.

The witness recalled finding the name "Craig".

Paramedic Anthony Lithgoe later told the trial today how there appeared to be "confusion" when he arrived at the scene.

He said: "There was a lot of public sort of milling about.

"We cleared everyone. We ascertained that he (Mr Kearney) was effectively dead. There was no cardiac output."

Mr Lithgoe said "advanced life support" took place in the street for 20 minutes.

Mr Ewing: "It was unsuccessful?"

The witness: "Unsuccessful, yes."

McClinton, also of East Kilbride, further faces a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

He denies the allegations.

The trial, before judge Lord Armstrong, continues.

Scots taxi driver cleared of killing passenger who called him 'specky' and was later found in pool of blood

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scot ... g-24671633

A taxi driver has been cleared of killing a passenger who called him "specky".

Derek McClinton, 51, was accused of mowing down Craig Kearney in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire on March 5, 2017.

The 24 year-old amateur footballer - who played for AFC Bonnyholm in Glasgow's Pollok - was found stricken on the road and never survived serious head injuries.

Prosecutors alleged McClinton, also of East Kilbride, had struck Mr Kearney before driving over him in his Skoda.

But, jurors today returned a not proven verdict to a murder charge following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

Members of the cabbie's family sobbed in relief.

Lord Armstrong told McClinton: "The jury by their verdict have acquitted you - that being so, you are free to leave the dock."

The court heard how McClinton had picked up Mr Kearney and others in Glasgow city centre en-route to East Kilbride.

Mr Kearney's girlfriend Olivia Geraghty was also with him.

She told the trial: "I remember me and my friends talking in the back and Craig being quite cheeky to the driver.

"I remember him saying 'specky'."

McClinton later told police Mr Kearney had been struggling with his seatbelt and when the cabbie went to help, the passenger shouted: "What the f*** are you doing?"

One of the women in the back ordered him to calm down.

McClinton said he was "quite frightened".

McClinton went on to describe Mr Kearney complaining about the route being taken and making threats.

After they stopped in East Kilbride, Mr Kearney allegedly damaged McClinton's car.

Miss Geraghty told jurors how both men each looked as if they wanted to "fight".

McClinton went on to claim he then spotted Mr Kearney with a brick or stone as the cabbie got back in his taxi.

The driver told police Mr Kearney was in the middle of the road and he "clipped" him as he drove off fearful his window would be smashed.

McClinton insisted Mr Kearney, of Neilston, near Glasgow, was "animated" and "definitely conscious" when he left the normally quiet estate.

Mr Kearney was found badly hurt in a pool of blood.

Attempts were made to save him, but he never recovered.

McClinton had denied murder.

His QC Donald Findlay had argued during the trial there had been "insufficient evidence" lead that there had been any sort of "homicide" committed and that McClinton had even been involved.

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IDFIMH

I'm not convinced about the verdict but I think it's more a case of not enough evidence to prove it for sure

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Not the verdict I was expecting, at least based on the first few articles.

But funny that there didn't really seem to be any real reporting of the defence case until this latest article about the verdict.

And strange that there seemed to be several articles about the prosecution case, but then a gap of several days. Of course, I may be reading too much into this (there may have been a gap in the proceedings, or simply no journalist available to cover the case - all the various sources seem to be reporting the same article, maybe from an agency like the Press Association). But it all kind of gives the impression that the reportage was a bit one-sided.

And, for example, you'd think a patholgist's report (or similar) about the precise injuries that caused the death would be included, and would be fundamental to apportioning blame. Again, there's nothing really reported in that regard, although presumably there must have been some sort of more detailed medical evidence other than what the paramedicts found on the scene after the incident.

Anyway, note that it's the middle way 'not proven' verdict under Scots law, which is between guilty and not guilty. But it's regarded as an acquittal, although obviously not quite such a strong acquittal as not guilty.

So to that degree it could be interesting to see whether licensing councillors take an interest. After all, even with a not guilty verdict a driver could be deemed not fit and proper on the different standard of proof used by licensing committees - on the balance of probabilities

Not proven should mean your still innocent as nothing was proven that you were actually guilty....anyhoos, i thought they were doing away with the Not Proven thing in Scotland.

I think they should do away with it.

If there is not enough evidence then you can't convict, if you can't convict then the defendant is 100% innocent.

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IDFIMH

Well you're still 100% innocent (to use Sussex's phrase) in that it's an acquittal, and you've been cleared.

But (and ignoring the technicalities), obviously the jury thinks there's a bit more doubt about your innocence than if they'd found you not guilty.

And which obviously intersects with how a licensing committee might view the same conduct in terms of the balance of probabilities.

Of course, in England it's not unknown for drivers to be found not quilty of something in the criminal courts to be stripped of their badge because it's a different standard of proof required - the 'balance of probablilities' for licensing, as opposed to 'beyond all reasonable doubt' required in terms of a criminal conviction.

But to that degree in Scotland it must be the case that a licensing committee is more likely to find a driver not fit and proper on the balance of probabilitities if a criminal case is found not proven rather than not guilty

And there was that case in Dundee a couple of years ago when it was claimed that Police Scotland's take on the not proven verdict was incorrect when they objected to the grant of a driver's badge.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34304&p=390366

Indeed, there's been an ongoing debate about abolishing 'not proven' for years, and although I haven't being paying much attention, that one of the charges in the Alex Salmond case was found not proven will have given added impetus to the debate.

Parents who watched taxi driver accused of killing son walk free want not proven verdict scrapped

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glas ... r-22507541

The parents of Craig Kearney, who was found bleeding to death on the road, have said the non-proven verdict of the man accused of his murder has robbed them of closure.

The parents of a young man who died after being found bleeding to death will tell a major review how the not-proven verdict of a man accused of causing his injuries robbed them of closure.

Craig Kearney was found on an East Kilbride road in March 2017 after a row with taxi driver Derek McClinton.

The 24-year-old had gotten in an argument with the driver - who was accused of mowing him down - after being picked up by his Skoda in Glasgow city centre following a night out for his girlfriend’s birthday.

McClinton admitted “clipping” the amateur footballer with his car and driving off during his trial at the High Court in Glasgow this year.

A jury later found the charge against him not proven, leaving Craig's mum and dad Barry and Marie in turmoil.

The Kearneys’ case was raised during a debate in the Scottish Parliament this week and now they will tell a Scottish Government consultation how the country’s three-verdict system is devastating families like theirs.

Marie said: “The law needs to change now.

“For four-and-a-half years we felt as though we were working towards some kind of closure.

“There will never be closure for us now. The person who murdered our son is still not in jail.

“We will never get justice and there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it.”

The court heard Craig had complained about the route and called the cabbie “specky” on route to East Kilbride, where his girlfriend Olivia Geraghty lived.

Olivia told jurors both men had looked as if they wanted to “fight” after pulling up. McClinton claimed he spotted Craig with a brick or stone as he got back into his taxi, “clipping” him as he drove off.

The taxi driver insisted Craig, of Neilston, near Glasgow, was “definitely conscious” when he left the estate but he was later found in a pool of blood and died from his head injuries.

McClinton, of East Kilbride, denied murder and his QC, Donald Findlay, argued during the trial that there had been “insufficient evidence” to prove homicide.

Barry said: “Not Proven was the worst possible scenario for us.

“It was a complete and utter shock.

“There were tyre marks all over my boy’s body - that’s why we’re so bitter about it.

“McClinton drove away and left him in the street. Why didn’t he stop? Why didn’t he phone the taxi company or the police?”

Barry and Marie requested a meeting with Justice Secretary Keith Brown after the verdict.

Marie said: “I wrote to him and got a standard reply back.

“I wrote to the Lord Advocate and the procurator fiscal responded with a standard reply.

“Nobody wants to know and we feel totally let down.

“I feel the verdict was a total cop out."

A three-month consultation launched on Monday will gather views on the three-verdict model from the public, legal professionals and those with experience of the justice system, while also considering jury size, the majority required for conviction and corroboration.

Barry said: “Not proven has made everything worse. It’s not an answer for anybody.

“We want to be part of the push now to get rid of it.

“We know it will not change anything for us but we don’t wish any family to feel like this again because of the not proven verdict.”

Scottish Conservative shadow community safety minister Russell Findlay, who raised the Kearneys' case in Parliament this week, said: “Marie and her family know through the tragic loss of their son Craig all about the painful injustice of not proven.

“The Kearney family, along with many others across Scotland, have run out of patience with a Scottish Government addicted to reviews, working groups, consultations and other talking shops.

“I share their suspicion that the latest SNP justice minister is yet again going to kick this issue into the long grass, which is why the Scottish Conservatives are pushing ahead to scrap not proven.

“We know the arguments, we’ve been talking about it for years. There is cross-party political consensus and it is time for action.

“Our plan to scrap not proven is one of several measures in our proposed Victims Law, which will put victims at the heart of Scotland’s criminal justice system.”

Keith Brown said this week the Scottish Government has “no settled view on potential next steps” with regard to not proven’s future but wants to listen to consultees before making a decision.

But looking at it logically, if the not proven verdict wasn't available then presumably the driver would have been found not guilty. So not sure if the deceased's family would feel any better about it, despite what they say

Of course, juries aren't necessarily logical, so maybe they would have found the driver guilty if the 'not proven' verdict hadn't been available

Anyway, would still be interested to know what happened to the driver's badge.

I understand what the family are saying.

Not proven means to me down here that the jury thinks he did it but the prosecution hasn't convinced them.

That in my view is far worse than a not guilty verdict.

If the jury came back with the not guilty verdict then the family might have accepted that, but 'more than likely guilty' is not good for the family.

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IDFIMH