Taxi Driver Online

Armed police called after taxi driver abused, trial hears



ARMED police were called after a Polish taxi driver was allegedly assaulted and racially abused in Cirencester in May last year, a trial has heard.

The jury at Gloucester Crown Court were told yesterday that Swindon cabbie Jack Alexandrovic, 24, had driven a man and a woman from Fairford to Cirencester on May 10 last year, but when he had asked for his £26.60 fare, the two ignored him and walked away.

Prosecutor Martin Steen said that, when went after the couple, a number of people emerged from a nearby flat on Stepstairs Court.

Mr Steen said one of the men, 46-year-old Darren Simpson, approached Mr Alexandrovic and tried to take the keys from the ignition.

"Apparently Mr Simpson had been told that the taxi driver had kidnapped the woman passenger who had been in the car earlier, Julia Roberts,” he said.

"On his own admission, Mr Simpson was at that time five on a scale of one to 10 in terms of inebriation.

He also later told a doctor at the police station that he had taken illicit drugs that night.”

Mr Steen continued that Mr Simpson, who later admitted having taken drugs and described himself as “five on a scale of one to ten” in drunkenness, swore at Mr Alexandrovic and threatened him.

He added Mr Alexandrovic had driven about 150 yards down the road, concerned he would be assaulted, when he saw Mr Simpson coming towards him with what appeared to be a 20cm knife in his hand and called the police.

"Because of the nature of his call the police turned up in force, armed and concerned,” he said.

The household where Mr Simpson had been partying with his friends was surrounded and he was quickly arrested.

When he was interviewed, Mr Simpson said he had been drinking at a friend’s house when Julia Roberts arrived and said someone had been kidnapped by a taxi driver.

He said he had gone outside to see what was happening and had approached the taxi driver to take his keys, who had punched him in the chest and drove up the road.

He said he then returned to his friend’s flat and continued drinking. "He said he could not remember making any racially abusive remarks,” he said.

Mr Simpson of School Lane, Cirencester, denies racially aggravated assault of Mr Alexandrovic, an alternative charge of battery and possessing an offensive weapon.

The trial continues.

http://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news ... ial_hears/

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

why ARMED police ?

Sounds to me like the passengers told a few porkies to get some "help" from their friends to get away with not paying for the taxi should they not be on trial for incitement ?

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

Who lives in the vicinity of Cirencester that would routinely have an armed police guard?

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Brummie Cabbie.

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so he lives in a block of flats in town and not a mansion out of town then ?

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

Unemployed man found guilty of a racist attack on a Polish taxi driver




A JUDGE has voiced his disgust at an unemployed alcoholic who launched a racist attack on a "hard-working Polish taxi driver".

Judge Jamie Tabor QC said he found it "'deeply unattractive" that the offensive assault was committed by a man who funds his drink and drugs with state benefits.

The judge spoke out at Gloucester Crown Court after Darren Simpson, 47, was convicted by a jury of racially aggravated assault on Jack Alexandrovic – a Pole who has been living and working in the UK for five years. The jury cleared Simpson of School Lane, Cirencester, of a second charge of having a knife during the incident.

Judge Tabor bailed Simpson for a pre-sentence report but warned he is facing an immediate jail term. He bailed Simpson and told him his sentence would depend on whether or not he continued "drinking himself to death at the expense of the state".

During a three-day trial, the jury heard that Swindon V Cars driver Mr Alexandrovic was punched in the face and called a "foreign f***er" by Simpson, moments after he had dropped off a fare in Cirencester on May 10 last year.

Mr Alexandrovic said he had picked up a man and a woman in their 50s that evening in Fairford and driven them to Stepstairs Lane, Cirencester. He said the couple did not pay their fare and he was told to drive to a nearby address to get the money.

Mr Alexandrovic went on to say Mr Simpson, who was outside the address with other people, hit him in the face with his closed hand.

He said: "There was force in the blow and I was so scared. He was calling me immigrant, foreigner, f***er. I was absolutely shocked. I have never had problems with people like this before."

In evidence, Simpson said he tried to take the ignition keys from the cab because he had heard that the driver had kidnapped a passenger. But he denied using racist language or hitting Mr Alexandrovic. After the jury convicted him of the assault, the court heard Simpson has 20 previous convictions for 73 offences, including some for violence. His barrister, Paul Trotman, confirmed Simpson is an alcoholic and a drug user.

The judge adjourned sentencing until October 4. He granted Simpson bail with an electronically tagged curfew from 6pm to 6am to "keep him out of the pubs".

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/ ... story.html

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