7:44am Monday 29th December 2008
By Gazette Reporter
A gang of teenagers who led police on a 15 mile chase in a stolen car less than a week after escaping prison have been jailed.
Claude Denham, Paul Carey and Sam Brown were put on suspended sentences by magistrates on Thursday November 13 for crashing a stolen car.
But the following Tuesday night they went out and took a number of cars before the cross country pursuit in the early hours of the morning.
And the chase only ended after three stinger devices had been used on the car which showered sparks as it continued to be driven despite three of the tyres being down to the rims.
Claire Marlow, prosecuting, told Swindon crown court that Denham, 18, was behind the wheel with 18-year-old’s Carey and Brown, both passengers.
She said the stolen J-reg Ford Escort had been taken between about 7pm and 2am when it was spotted by police in the village of Corston.
About half and hour later it was seen again by officers on the A429 but it sped off, causing them to give chase.
After travelling at about 70mph in a 40mph zone the car went along country lanes towards Sherston, sometimes going on the wrong side of the road.
A stinger device was used unsuccessfully at Grittleton as officers tried to deflate the car’s tyres and it continued on to Yatton Keynell.
Miss Marlow said a second stinger device was successfully deployed but the Escort continued on the A420 towards Chippenham.
She said a third was used and the car was driving on at least three tyre rims with sparks flying off the back of the vehicle.
The car was eventually stopped, all three were arrested and they each made no comment to questions at the police station.
Carey, of Brook Street, Chippenham, Brown, of Wiltshire Crescent, Melksham, and Denham, of Easton, Corsham, all admitted aggravated taking without consent, breaching a suspended sentence and asked for six other matters to be taken into consideration.
Denham also admitted driving while disqualified, dangerous driving and not having insurance.
A few days before the offences magistrates had imposed 18 week jail terms suspended for two years for a string of offences including aggravated taking without consent.
Giles Nelson, for all three, said that though it was clearly dangerous to drive away from the police it was in the middle of the night when the roads were empty.
He said Denham had left school at the age of twelve and faced Christmas and his birthday behind bars for the first time.
Brown had been recreationally using cannabis and cocaine and along with Carey also drank too much, he said.
Jailing them Judge William Hart said “You three are 18 or 19 years of age and all have bad records. You are all persistent offenders.
“The sort of terms used in the pre-sentence reports on you are ‘you show total lack of respect for the law’. You seem to think that is something to be proud of.
“Mr Nelson used the term ‘time to start to grow up’. It is time you three realised it is time to start to grow up and stop behaving in this way.”
He jailed them for 58 weeks and also banned Denham from the road for a year and until he had passed an extended driving test.
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