Discussion
For the third time we have spent the day in court over the incident where I was punched in a road rage incident at the end of last August.
Well they saw sense and found him *GUILTY* in the end!
I have to say that I'm well impressed with his story that he put forward - apparently I tried to ram the side of his car with mine and he felt that I had endangered his children.
He explained that the reason he stopped his car and got out was to express his dissatisfaction with my driving. He explained carefully that he was concerned that I might have jumped out of my car to be aggressive towards him and hence when he reached my vehicle he placed his hands on the tops of my doors to prevent me opening them. Apparently he was taken by suprise and unbalanced when I opened my window to find out what he wanted and he just "fell in" and in doing so managed to catch me a glancing blow in the throat (still haven't worked out quite how).
Phil
Well they saw sense and found him *GUILTY* in the end!
I have to say that I'm well impressed with his story that he put forward - apparently I tried to ram the side of his car with mine and he felt that I had endangered his children.
He explained that the reason he stopped his car and got out was to express his dissatisfaction with my driving. He explained carefully that he was concerned that I might have jumped out of my car to be aggressive towards him and hence when he reached my vehicle he placed his hands on the tops of my doors to prevent me opening them. Apparently he was taken by suprise and unbalanced when I opened my window to find out what he wanted and he just "fell in" and in doing so managed to catch me a glancing blow in the throat (still haven't worked out quite how).
Phil
Tonyrec said:
Phil,
I know it was an ordeal, but at least justice prevailed in the end.
Lets hope that they lock him up!
Well, after verdict was passed the legal advisor did reel off a list of similar offences (not by him) and the punishments that had been handed out so that the Magistrates had a "guideline" to work to - they have warned him that he faces a custodial sentence of between 3 and 9 months pending "reports".
He's due to be sentenced on the 29th so I can phone on the 30th to find out what the final decision was ... it is however doubtfull that he will get a custodial sentence as - although he does have several prior convictions for other offences none of them were for any sort of violent assault.
Phil
Tonyrec said:
Phil,
I know it was an ordeal, but at least justice prevailed in the end.
Lets hope that they lock him up!
Oh - one thing I was dissapointed with...
...they traced the guy through the registration number that I had my wife write down at the time of the offence however the police did not list it on the evidence list even though it was present there today so it was rejected as evidence.
The guys defence lawyer picked up on this and claimed that "although there are similarities between Mr. Harris's report and my clients statement there is no evidence to link the two offences and it is my suggestion that the two statements relate to completely different incidents." - I thought that was a cracker!
The registration number was how they found him in the first place!
Phil
Marcos Maniac said:
Who, what, where, when................
Take a look at :
[url]www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=55242&f=10&h=0&hw=A3+White+Sierra[/url]
Marcos Maniac said:
Didn't know about this Phil.
It was before I first met you and it never came up in conversation. :-D
Marcos Maniac said:
Must be a mad man - your not exactly a small chapor was that why he was holding the door closed
Well he did say that he was concerned that as I "was a hefty bloke" he felt that I might have "kicked something off" with him which was why he says he was leaning on my car holding the door shut ... now, I have absolutely no recollection of him leaning on the car holding the door shut at all but it was kinda cool when the Magistrates turned round and said about his defence lawyer concentrating on my supposedly intimidating the defendant "well that's all well and good but your client is the one that got out of his car and made an aggressive move when he could have just driven on and avoided the situation." :-D
He claimes that as the window went down his hand slipped in and he caught me a glancing blow with the palm of his hand ... I did try to explain that even I can tell the difference between being struck with a fist and an open hand.
At the end of the day the prosecution did say to me afterwards that without his statement where he did say that he struck me (albeit accidentally) they wouldn't have had any case for him to answer.
Quick straw poll here:
Q) You accidentally strike someone whilst trying to talk to them about what you perceive to be a deficiency in their driving, do you,
1) Walk off, jump in your car and drive away.
2) Say "Sorry 'bout that, I slipped, I do apologise, now about your driving..."
Phil
Well done that man...
Unfortunately though he'll no doubt get of with such a small fine/slap that you'll wonder if it was all worth the effort.
I believe they want a minimum of abh/gbh before imposing custody (overcrowding you see - it's all thaose tv's and ps2's)
Hopefully Ed wasn't in the car at the time..
5ltr-chim said:
Hopefully Ed wasn't in the car at the time..
Unfortunately he was...
...and even nearly a year on, when we get caught in slow moving traffic he still asks "Is that man going to hit you" when someone pulls in front of us. It doesn't keep him awake at nights of course but it does obviously still play on his mind.
Phil
5ltr-chim said:
Unfortunately though he'll no doubt get of with such a small fine/slap that you'll wonder if it was all worth the effort.
Well, soft hearted sod that I am and assuming that he isn't exactly well off then even the court costs that the prosecution were asking for would make me sweat ... and that was before they also started making noises about compensation.
5ltr-chim said:
I believe they want a minimum of abh/gbh before imposing custody (overcrowding you see - it's all thaose tv's and ps2's)
From the documentation we got through from the C.P.S. it looks like they have taken it as an ABH...
...I was kinda suprised at that given the very minor (I.M.O.) nature of it.
Phil
Phil
I'm not one to preach, but might I respectfully suggest that next time you should be more considerate and careful in your driving. Don't annoy people so much. Try your hardest to avoid causing a disturbance in their lives. Remember, if you had been better behaved, this might not have happened.
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And get out of the car and kick them in the goolies FIRST!
Glad you got a "result", mate, even if it turns out like most wishy-washy sentencing in this country today. Of course, it would have been worse for him if he'd been speeding
Streaky
I'm not one to preach, but might I respectfully suggest that next time you should be more considerate and careful in your driving. Don't annoy people so much. Try your hardest to avoid causing a disturbance in their lives. Remember, if you had been better behaved, this might not have happened.
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And get out of the car and kick them in the goolies FIRST!
Glad you got a "result", mate, even if it turns out like most wishy-washy sentencing in this country today. Of course, it would have been worse for him if he'd been speeding
Streaky
streaky said:
Phil
I'm not one to preach, but might I respectfully suggest that next time you should be more considerate and careful in your driving. Don't annoy people so much. Try your hardest to avoid causing a disturbance in their lives. Remember, if you had been better behaved, this might not have happened.
/me waits for the punchline...
streaky said:
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...still waiting...
streaky said:
And get out of the car and kick them in the goolies FIRST!
...and there it is!
streaky said:
Glad you got a "result", mate, even if it turns out like most wishy-washy sentencing in this country today. Of course, it would have been worse for him if he'd been speeding
Streaky
LOL - What was really suprising was that given that he was up in court as the accused you'd have expected him to have turned up in a suit ... as it was he was in jeans, Tee-shirt and trainers!
Phil
Neil_H said:
Excellent result, I remember reading the original thread, glad justice has prevailed and I hope he gets what he deserves.
Thanks - gotta say I wouldn't have had this much patience with it and stuck it out had it not been for Tonyrec badgering me at the start not to just let it slide ... cheers Tony.
Phil
I presided on a jury for an assault and threatening behaviour charge. The "excuse" the defendant offered was that an axe (yes, you know the one you chop down trees with) was in fact..... a mobile phone!!!! And that he wasnt threatening to chop someones hands off at all.... cracking excuse.....
Strangely we found the monkey guilty and when the judge read out his LONG list of other offences, he decided to lock him up for the longest he could! Oh, but it was sooo fitting that his chav girlfriend lied on oath (pending further investigations by the CPS) and how she would wait for him to get out.....
There must be a funny side to being a judge sometimes. Some of the crappiest excuses known to man....why the hell bother - just cop for it and take the punishment. As if the judge and jury couldnt see through it.... moron...
Glad you got a result and happy that its now over. Shame it had to come to this - but hey, could have been a lot worse and thank god this bloke has been found guilty.... good work and have a beer on me for taking it all the way. Too many people dont or are frightened to stick with it.... well done that man!!!
Strangely we found the monkey guilty and when the judge read out his LONG list of other offences, he decided to lock him up for the longest he could! Oh, but it was sooo fitting that his chav girlfriend lied on oath (pending further investigations by the CPS) and how she would wait for him to get out.....
There must be a funny side to being a judge sometimes. Some of the crappiest excuses known to man....why the hell bother - just cop for it and take the punishment. As if the judge and jury couldnt see through it.... moron...
Glad you got a result and happy that its now over. Shame it had to come to this - but hey, could have been a lot worse and thank god this bloke has been found guilty.... good work and have a beer on me for taking it all the way. Too many people dont or are frightened to stick with it.... well done that man!!!
bassfiend said:
From the documentation we got through from the C.P.S. it looks like they have taken it as an ABH...
...I was kinda suprised at that given the very minor (I.M.O.) nature of it.
Nope - its exactly what it is - Actual Bodily Harm. If it leaves a mark (or mental mark) it can be classified as ABH. GBH being more serious than ABH. They recently clarified and expanded assault, ABH and GBH to cover a whole load of extra offences.... minor it might have been, but its still ABH and it carries a maximum of 7 years imprisonment!!!
Couple of crackers that my wife has reminded me of...
Firstly:
Brief : "On the day of the incident where had you been?"
Him : "I woz goin' to Guildford to drop off me kids wi'me ex-wife"
(Normally I wouldn't try the bad pronunciation but I would have expected him to have at least made an effort in from of Magistrates - mind you I would have also expected him to have at least borrowed a suit if he didn't have one yet he turned up in Jeans and trainers.)
Brief : "Yes ... but where had you been?"
Him : "Oh ... I'd been to see me wife in 'ospital, see, she were in a diabetic coma, could a gone any minute."
Brief : "So is it fair to say that you were upset and under some personal stress because of this?"
Him : "Nah ... She were in't best place for 'er so I wunt wurried."
...I could almost hear his brief do a Homeresque "Doh!"
The other one which cracked me up...
Prosecutor : "You say that you were goaded and provoked into your leaving your car to have a talk with Mr. Harris - exactly how were you provoked?"
Him : "Well when I'd got in front of 'im I saw him lauging and callin' me a w*nker."
Prosecuter : "You were able to hear him?"
Him : "Nah - but I could see i'm in me mirrors - he did the w*nker sign. " (And proceeded to show everyone.)
Prosecutor : "...and assuming that you did see such a sign being given, that angered you?"
Him : "Yeah ... well I want me girls brought up better than that."
Prosecutor : "But your girls were in your car and I assume looking forward - you say that you were looking in your rear view mirror to see this. Did you say anything to Mr. Harris in reply to this?"
Him : "Yeah - I shouted 'What the f**k do you think you're doing you c**t?'"
Prosecutor : "You shouted this?"
Him : "Yeah - don't think he would have been able to hear though."
Prosecutor : "Where were you when you first shouted this?"
Him : "In me car."
Prosecutor : "With your children?"
Him : "Yeah - well I want 'em to know better than to make the w*nker sign."
Phil
>> Edited by bassfiend on Wednesday 7th July 07:36
Firstly:
Brief : "On the day of the incident where had you been?"
Him : "I woz goin' to Guildford to drop off me kids wi'me ex-wife"
(Normally I wouldn't try the bad pronunciation but I would have expected him to have at least made an effort in from of Magistrates - mind you I would have also expected him to have at least borrowed a suit if he didn't have one yet he turned up in Jeans and trainers.)
Brief : "Yes ... but where had you been?"
Him : "Oh ... I'd been to see me wife in 'ospital, see, she were in a diabetic coma, could a gone any minute."
Brief : "So is it fair to say that you were upset and under some personal stress because of this?"
Him : "Nah ... She were in't best place for 'er so I wunt wurried."
...I could almost hear his brief do a Homeresque "Doh!"
The other one which cracked me up...
Prosecutor : "You say that you were goaded and provoked into your leaving your car to have a talk with Mr. Harris - exactly how were you provoked?"
Him : "Well when I'd got in front of 'im I saw him lauging and callin' me a w*nker."
Prosecuter : "You were able to hear him?"
Him : "Nah - but I could see i'm in me mirrors - he did the w*nker sign. " (And proceeded to show everyone.)
Prosecutor : "...and assuming that you did see such a sign being given, that angered you?"
Him : "Yeah ... well I want me girls brought up better than that."
Prosecutor : "But your girls were in your car and I assume looking forward - you say that you were looking in your rear view mirror to see this. Did you say anything to Mr. Harris in reply to this?"
Him : "Yeah - I shouted 'What the f**k do you think you're doing you c**t?'"
Prosecutor : "You shouted this?"
Him : "Yeah - don't think he would have been able to hear though."
Prosecutor : "Where were you when you first shouted this?"
Him : "In me car."
Prosecutor : "With your children?"
Him : "Yeah - well I want 'em to know better than to make the w*nker sign."
Phil
>> Edited by bassfiend on Wednesday 7th July 07:36
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