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R v Winter
COURT OF APPEAL, CRIMINAL DIVISION
[2006] All ER (D) 190 (Jul)
HEARING-DATES: 14 JULY 2006
14 JULY 2006
The victim was a black cab driver. He picked up the defendant, aged 30, from a taxi rank in the early hours of the morning and drove him towards his destination. During the journey, the defendant started to complain about the route taken by the victim, and stated 'just [edited by admin] drive'. When the cab was near to the defendant's destination, he asked to be let out. The automatic locks on the doors were in operation, and the victim asked for the £ 7.30 fare before the defendant alighted. The defendant refused to pay, and said '[edited by admin] let me out, open the door'. The victim replied that he would drive to the police station, whereupon the defendant shook the partition, kicked and smashed the glass, and grabbed the victim by his neck. The victim lost control of his cab which then crashed into a number of parked vehicles, causing considerable damage.
A total of £ 2,316 worth of damage was caused to the cab, one of the other vehicles was written off, and the others sustained damage of over £ 600 and £ 1000 respectively. The defendant tried again to grab the victim; however, he managed to make off. In his interview, the defendant stated that he had believed that he was being falsely imprisonment and driven against his will, and that he had acted out of fear.
In due course, the defendant pleaded guilty on re-arraignment to four counts of criminal damage and one count of common assault. He had a previous conviction for battery and cautions for being drunk in a public place and criminal damage. The judge indicated that the defendant would receive limited credit for his late guilty pleas and that the offences were very serious. In the event, the defendant was sentenced to concurrent sentences of 12 months' imprisonment in respect of the counts of criminal damage, and a consecutive sentence of four months' imprisonment in relation to common assault. He appealed against sentence.
He contended that, in all the circumstances the sentences imposed were manifestly excessive.
COUNSEL:
Hannah Duncan (assigned by the Registrar of Criminal Appeals) for the defendant.;
PANEL: FORBES J AND JUDGE GOLDSACK QC
DISPOSITION:
The appeal would be dismissed.
Taxi drivers operating at night were particularly vulnerable to aggressive and violent behaviour from passengers who were drunk. Judges had to be astute to afford protection to such victims by imposing sentences which were suitable deterrents and appropriate in all the circumstances of the particular case.
In the instant case the judge had rightly observed that, looked at in the round, the offences were serious. The victim was one of those vulnerable victims. The sentences were within the appropriate range for such offences, taken individually or in aggregate.
The sentence was not manifestly excessive.
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