Jail for stolen car rampage

Man drove at more than 70mph through Belfast

A 28-YEAR-OLD man who drove a stolen car at more than 70mph has been jailed.

Ciaran Mcguigan , with an ad dress at Edward Street in Portadown, Co Down, was handed a 19-month sentence, which was divided equally between custody and licence.

He appeared at Belfast Crown Court via a videolink with Maghaberry.

Mcguigan pleaded guilty to a number of offences on December 18 last year, including aggravated vehicle taking, driving dangerously, aggravated vehicle taking causing damage and driving with no insurance.

On the afternoon in question, Mcguigan was spotted by police on the Falls Road in West Belfast in a black BMW, which had been stolen four days earlier in Tandragee.

He sped off along the Whiterock Road, reaching speeds of around 60mph in a 30mph area.

Police deployed sirens, lights and a stinger – which caused the BMW’S front tyres to deflate – but Mcguigan failed to stop.

He drove on the wrong side of the road which caused other motorists to take evasive action to avoid a colli sion , jumped a set of red traffic lights on the Spring field Road, reached speeds in excess of 70mph and drove the wrong way down Cavendish Street.

After colliding with a silver Nissan, which caused damage to the vehicle, Mcguigan then abandoned the BMW and fled the scene.

As he sentenced the defendant, Judge Stephen Fowler QC noted 31 of his 57 previous convictions were for motoring offences.

Citing this as a “formidable record for relevant offending”, the judge noted the offending occurred three months after Mcguigan was released from prison on licence.

Also noted by Judge Fowler was a shooting attempt on the defendant in 2010 by paramilitaries which left him with PTSD, as well as alcohol abuse stemming back to his teens.

He said whilst Mcguigan had engaged with probation in the past to tackle alcohol and drug issues, “more rehabiliation work is required”.

The j udge al so i mposed a three-year driving ban.