Not a difficult case for police to crack, since he obviously used a mobile in his own name to make the booking.
But he's either irredeemably stupid, or he just didn't think police would take any interest. Unfortunately for him, they did
But £93.40 certainly a healthy sum for a 28-mile run
Whitehaven man who dodged taxi fare ends up with £346 court bill
https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/2320 ... ourt-bill/
A WEST Cumbrian man has been left with a £346 court bill after he took a 28-mile taxi journey to Whitehaven – and then made off without paying.
Daniel Cardy, 31, who was criticised for addressing the clerk at Carlisle’s Rickergate court as “darling,” was prosecuted after he failed to pay the £93.40 fare for a journey between Wigton rail station and Whitehaven.
He pleaded guilty to dishonestly making off without payment.
Prosecutor George Shelley outlined how the defendant used his mobile phone to book the taxi on September 11.
He asked to be picked up at Wigton from the train station and taken to Whitehaven.
When they arrived there, the driver pulled over on Queen Street.
“But as the driver was asking for the fare, the defendant was already opening the door and half way out of the taxi,” said Mr Shelley.
“When asked about paying by the driver, Cardy said he needed to get money from his flat. The driver suggested that he could leave his phone by way of insurance but the defendant said he didn’t have it.”
At this point, Cardy made off. Despite the driver waiting for some time for Cardy to return, he never did. The defendant was traced precisely because he did have his mobile phone with him, having used it to book the taxi.
When police interviewed him, he gave no comment answers. The court heard that the defendant was last convicted for an offence of criminal damage.
Cardy was not legally represented and told the court there was nothing he wanted to say.
After hearing about the case, magistrate fined him £120, and imposed costs of £85 and a £48 victim surcharge. He must also pay compensation to the taxi driver of £93.40. That brought his total debt to the court £346.
When Cardy replied to the court clerk's request for a plea with the words "Guilty, darling," she told him: “It’s not darling.”
The defendant originally had an address at Corkickle, Whitehaven, but said he is now 'sofa surfing'.
