Taxi Driver Online

Whingeing thug asks judge 'are you going to look after my mum' after he's jailed

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/14853 ... Manchester



A SCREAMING thug asked a judge "are you going to look after my mum" after he was jailed for attacking a taxi driver.

David Meehan, 39, shouted from the dock as he was locked up for his role in the shocking attack on the cabbie. The thug was "immediately rude" to the taxi driver, punched him and threw coins at him in the rage.

And he was sentenced to 20 months in jail yesterday at Bolton Crown Court after the judge heard of his 13 previous convictions for 23 offences.

Sentencing the thug, Judge Graeme Smith said: "In your pre-sentence report, you are still minimising what happened."

But Meehan shouted: "Are you going to look after my mum, she can’t look after herself.

“You’re going to do nothing."

The court heard Meehan and his friend Anthony Greenall, 39, rang Bluestar Taxis to pick them up from an address in Wigan, Greater Manchester, in the early hours of the morning of June 14, 2019, following a wake.

The victim had been warned about the men by a colleague, who had picked them up earlier in the night after they had been kicked out of a bar.

And the taxi driver told the court he could smell alcohol on both men.

Adam Watkins, prosecuting, told the court the victim asked for £3.50 up front, wary that the men would leave without paying.

But Meehan said: "take us home, you black taxi driver" and Greenall shouted: "You must take us home, otherwise you’re f***ed."

The driver responded by telling the men to behave or he would not take them anywhere, Mr Watkins added.

Meehan then started throwing punches to the driver's face and body, but the victim managed to get out of the car.

The men then gave chase. Meehan held a wine bottle above his head as if planning to hit the driver, while both men shouted threats at him.

Dad-of-one Greenall then ripped a windscreen wiper off a nearby car and hit the victim with it, knocking his glasses off in the process.

Meanwhile, Meehan reached into the victim's taxi and picked up some coins, which he then threw at him.

One of the men also kicked the driver door, damaging the wing mirror in the process, Mr Watkins told the court.

The victim ran away again and both men gave chase, Meehan quickly gave up but Greenall caught him and tried to punch the victim again.

Meehan then shouted Greenall and both men left the area.

When the victim returned to the car, he noticed that the dashcam and keys were missing - these were not recovered.

In a victim personal statement, the driver said that he had never previously been subjected to violence in his three years as a taxi driver.

He said that the incident left him 'extremely frightened' and made him want to change jobs.

The court heard Greenall, of Wigan, has 10 convictions for 13 offences, with the most recent being in 2007.

Both men denied being involved in the attack but pleaded guilty to affray on the day of their trial.

Greenall's 19-month imprisonment was suspended for two years.

Judge Smith said: "You have not sought to minimise this attack, on the contrary, you have written a full and frank apology to [the victim].

"You are also the sole carer of a seven-year-old child.

"In your case, this is a case I am able to suspend."

Greenall was also ordered to complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

Meehan, also from Wigan, cares for his 78-year-old mum and has mental health issues but was still jailed.

Paul Becker, defending him, said: "He acted the way he did due to alcohol, that is not mitigation but some explanation about the defendant’s problems. He has been trying to resolve his use of alcohol and drugs since then."

Greenall's defence barrister, Tom Watson, described the attack as an 'utterly despicable and disgraceful incident'.

He said: "They should be ashamed of themselves. Greenall is ashamed of himself and knows that it is no example to his young son, who he has full responsibility for."

Mr Watson also told the court that Greenall has brain damage following a road traffic collision when he was 16-years-old and that he cares for his elderly father, as well as his seven-year-old son.

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IDFIMH

That's two money-up-front rucks in two days

That's one reason I try to avoid it whenever possible. At the very least it could lose you the fare if they take the huff and take the car behind

Maybe he should have thought of his Mum before he flew off the handle.

He doesn't give a f*** about his mum, he only cares about himself.

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IDFIMH