Crook with ‘appalling’ record led police on a dangerous bike chase
JAILED AFTER JUDGE TELLS HIM: ‘YOU COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEONE’
A CONVICTED criminal led police on a high-speed chase in broad daylight through a Nottingham suburb on an uninsured off-road bike.
During the pursuit through Sherwood, footage played at Nottingham Crown Court showed unlicensed Adrian Johnson jump a red light and cross a central reservation while topping 50mph.
The 44-year-old, who has 145 previous offences, also drove on the wrong side of the road and narrowly avoided causing a head-on collision with an oncoming car.
He had been convicted of carrying out a Christmas shoplifting spree three days before at the city’s magistrates’ court. The offences put him in breach of a suspended sentence order imposed for burglaries by the same judge who this week put him behind bars.
Jailing Johnson for a total of two years and five months, Judge James Sampson KC said: “You have an appalling record with over 140 criminal offences on your record and Miss Brasoveanu, your barrister, has said all she could possibly say on your behalf.
“But, as I have just graphically watched, this was a bad case of dangerous driving. You went through a red light, went the wrong way around a roundabout and if you had not been stopped you could have killed someone.
“Driving like this presents a danger to the public and it is so serious that only a custodial sentence is appropriate.”
Nicola Patten, prosecuting, played footage which showed the police pull alongside the off-road bike in
Edwards Lane as the defendant stalled. Once he got the bike going again he sped off with police in pursuit. Johnson was seen careering down narrow side streets in Sherwood with cars parked on either side. He jumped a red light, went between two stationary cars after crossing over the central reservation in Mansfield Road and swerved to avoid the head-on collision.
Miss Patten said: “He then collides with a bollard and the officer is able to get out of the car with his baton raised and arrest him. But he is abusive and other officers are called to assist and he is placed in the back of a police car.
“Once there he then kicks out at the door and window, causing damage. He is found to have no licence and no insurance.”
The defendant received a community order three days before at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court for stealing toys and gifts from B&M in Hucknall two days before Christmas
Johnson, of Radford Road, Forest Fields, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and criminal damage. He also admitted breaching a suspended sentence order and a community order.
In mitigation, Bianca Brasoveanu urged the judge not to activate the suspended sentence. She said: “This defendant does have an address to go back to and since he has been in custody he has been off drugs. He was engaging with the probation service and he could be allowed to continue his rehabilitation.”
The judge also banned Johnson from driving for 32 months.