A dad-to-be stole a car and drove it at a police officer during a pursuit through the East Riding because…Oooh, wait!
*gets bag of popcorn*
OK, then!
… he "panicked" at the thought of parenthood.Well, of course he did…
Daniel Rutter, 21, took the Chrysler belonging to Mark Taylor, his mother's partner, from outside their home in Burton Agnes, near Bridlington.
A neighbour rang police after spotting the car being driven erratically at 2am.
Officers stopped Rutter, whose girlfriend had just revealed she was pregnant, in Great Barn Street, Bridlington.
Prosecutor James Byatt told Hull Crown Court: "The vehicle turned around and drove towards the police car.
"The officers got out. They believed the vehicle was stolen.
"The vehicle then drove towards the woman officer, who managed to jump out of the way in time."
Police gave chase and the Chrysler was seen to mount the kerb several times. Rutter, who was pursued through the centre of the town, also skipped a red light. Humberside Police's helicopter joined the chase as the car was driven along the A164 back to Burton Agnes.They never caught him, either..
When officers arrested Rutter at home he told them he had intended to drive to Flamborough, where he wanted to think about his predicament.Riiiiight! Still, if that’s all he’s ever done, it…
Oh:
Days earlier, Rutter had been released on licence from prison after serving part of a three-year sentence for assault.Lovely!
Paul Norman, mitigating, said his client had been in shock on June 28 after being told his girlfriend's news.
He said: "He was genuinely shocked at the prospect of coping with a child.
"He had something to drink, but believed he was under the limit. In fact, he was not far off it.
"During the chase, Mr Rutter was indicating at relevant turnings.
"His actions were clearly dangerous and reckless."
Mr Norman asked the judge to take his client's early guilty pleas into account when sentencing him.Why should he? It’s clear he’s had a lot of practice at making them!
Judge Michael Mettyear said he also noted Rutter's long history of offending. He told him: "You have a miserable record of offending going back ten years for dishonesty, violence and public disorder.
"The court has tried in the past to help you, but it does not seem to be working.
"This was a bad offence of aggravated vehicle taking and it involved driving at a police officer.
"Only a custodial sentence can be justified."Thank God! Even if he will inevitably only serve half...
14 comments:
As noted in the comments on the linked article, if he'd been released on licence only days before being told his girlfriend was pregnant, then surely there must be a question-mark over parentage?
Feckless and brainless are the two most appropriate words for this chap. Sadly, he is representative of a large part of the population - it does make me weep to see how the benefit and no-blame culture has given rise to all this.
Why are the lawyers even wittering on about what he was feeling anyway - he drove a car at a police officer, recklessly endangering life. End of.
Sadly he won't serve half, more like a quarter.
If you plead guilty & behave within "reason" in prison, he'll be up for early release on license again.
So much for custodial sentence.....
Panicked at the thought of parenthood.
I put that through the Bullshitometer and it registered 9.5/10
Surely, if he was released on licence and then re-offended, he should serve the remainder of the first sentence AND THEN begin the sentence for the latest series of crimes. Driving a car at a Police officer, or anyone else, is nothing short of attempted murder or, at least GBH. I despair at the so called intelligence of the judiciary in, once again, putting the views and consideration of the criminals before the victims. I'm only surprised he wasn't told he was 'courageous as the Judge wouldn't have the nerve to drive a car at a copper'. As for the words of the defence brief, he will no doubt dine out for months on his plea of mitigation.
Penseivat
""You have a miserable record of offending going back ten years for dishonesty, violence and public disorder. "
And some brainless bint reckoned he was great breeding stock.
Sometimes I despair of my gender.
Certainly hope the guy gets locked up but I'm curious about one point.
Is driving at a police woman more serious than, say, at a nurse, plasterer or astrophysicist? Or for that matter a policeman?
Jiks,
Over the past 3 years, at least 3 Police officers - one woman, two men - have been killed from offenders driving cars at them. In the same period, more than 20 have been injured. The fact of having a car driven at someone is, in law, no more serious for a Police officer than a nurse, plasterer or astrophysicist, but the last three are not expected to stand between criminals and society. Police officers are. At the same time, in my home town, nurses are twice as likely as Police officers to be assaulted. Regrettably, I have no figures for plasterers or astrophysicists but then I have no figures on how often, or likely, they are to try and stop someone in a stolen car attempting to avoid arrest. Mind you, having witnessed my wife's reaction whenever he's on the telly, that Brian Cox needs to look out!
Penseivat
I still think we should help the developing world by building our prisons there and paying them to take care of the likes of this chap.
Trade not aid, that's what it is. They could easily keep him for the full sentence and I'm sure they'd be delighted with the contract. G4S would be able to supervise and the lower labour costs would help them recover from their Olympics debacle.
If he's 21 and has a 'miserable record' going back ten years then that means he's been in trouble since he was 11. Why is he walking about or, for that matter, breathing? He should either be locked up as a prophylactic measure or hanged. How many innocent people has he harmed in this decade-long spree? No libertarian society I want to be part of tolerates parasites and predators.
"...then surely there must be a question-mark over parentage?"
Let's hope so, for the child's sake. Bot that any other stud of the mother's choosing is likely to have been a pedigree.
"Sadly he won't serve half, more like a quarter. "
:/
"Surely, if he was released on licence and then re-offended, he should serve the remainder of the first sentence AND THEN begin the sentence for the latest series of crimes. "
Well, indeed. Or... what's the point of it all?
"And some brainless bint reckoned he was great breeding stock.
Sometimes I despair of my gender."
You'll love the post I've got coming up in a day or two, then...
"Regrettably, I have no figures for plasterers or astrophysicists but then I have no figures on how often, or likely, they are to try and stop someone in a stolen car attempting to avoid arrest. "
Plenty of car owners have been run over by thieve as they attempted to stop the theft of their car...
"If he's 21 and has a 'miserable record' going back ten years then that means he's been in trouble since he was 11."
Probably before that too, it's only that since criminal responsibility begins at 10...
I’m not being funny but unless you understand the circumstances don’t comment on stuff you no nothing about. Unfortunately there are other issues that weren’t made public so how can people comment.
Sorry, anon, but I'll comment on anything I feel like, whether I 'know' - see that, the correct spelling - anything about it or not. My readers are free to do so, as well.
And since your comment made me Google this waste of oxygen, it seems prison did nothing - again.
What a shocker.
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