Two jailed after pinching bus as driver took break
The culprits broadcast the incident live on Facebook
TWO men who drove off in a bus while its driver was taking a break – and posted a live video of their actions online – have been sent to prison.
James Jones and Jonathan Huckerby had “a very bad idea” when they decided to take the out-of-service Skylink vehicle in Shepshed last month.
The pair broke down in tears in court on Thursday (January 3) after they were jailed for four weeks each for what was described as “high jinks” and a prank that went too far.
Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard the pair had been drinking in Loughborough on December 3 and had taken the bus to Shepshed to continue partying.
They were waiting at a bus stop to try to get back to Loughborough when they noticed the unattended 40-seater.
Jones, a former bus driver, was able to unlock the vehicle and he and Huckerby got on board, broadcasting footage on Facebook.
The court heard they drove round the corner before realising the severity of what they were doing, pulled over and abandoned the bus.
Kwok Wan, prosecuting, said at 7.30pm the driver of the bus parked and locked it in Charnwood Road, Shepshed, and left it while he took a break.
Mr Wan said: “When he returned, the bus was not where he had left it. He called the police.”
While officers were searching for the bus they became aware of the Facebook stream.
They then saw Huckerby and Jones walking along Ashby Road and arrested them.
Mr Wan said 27-year-old Jones, of Armadale Drive, Leicester, admitted taking the bus and told an officer how he did it.
Mr Wan said: “He said as he was driving the gravity of what he was doing dawned on him so he stopped and parked the bus.”
Huckerby (28), of Pevensey Road, Loughborough, said they were drunk and taking the bus had been a joke.
He initially told police he did not know Jones intended to drive off. But officers showed him the live stream of himself egging him on.
Mr Wan said: “He said it started as a joke and it went too far.”
Darren Young, defending Huck- erby, said the video showed them messing around outside the bus at first before Jones got into the driver’s seat.
He said: “There’s a general theme of messing around. Then the prank went too far.”
Mr Young said Huckerby had had a very bad 2018, suffering mental health and substance abuse problems.
Police found Huckerby with a small amount of the drug mamba, which Mr Young said he used to self medicate.
Kate Neil, defending Jones, said her client had been a bus driver until two years ago when he suffered a mental health breakdown and was sectioned.
She said he was still receiving mental health treatment.
She said Jones had got involved in “a folly” on December 3. “He can only apologise for what he has done,” she said.
“This was high jinks that went too far. When police played the video to him he was embarrassed.”
The court heard the bus was not damaged and £500 in fares was untouched.
Jones and Huckerby both admitted taking the vehicle without consent.
Jones also admitted driving without proper insurance while Huckerby admitted possession of mamba.
Both defendants had taken the bus while serving suspended sentences; Jones’s of 12 weeks for a violent crime that was suspended for a year in May, and Huckerby’s, for violence and arson, from September.
Chairman of the magistrates Nigel Siesage told them there was no alternative to activating their prison terms.
Their four-week terms will be added to their previous sentences.
Jones was also banned from driving for 30 weeks.
Each defendant was ordered to pay £200 in court costs and victim surcharges.