28-year-old Terence Smith of Fransham Road in Middlesbrough was sentenced to 9 years and 7 months in prison for robbery and deliberately driving into a police vehicle in an attempt to escape from officers.
Thursday 5th July | by Cop(ex) | Connect with us on Twitter |
The two Officers from Cleveland Police required hospital treatment after their vehicle was rammed by SMITH during a high-speed pursuit after he had just robbed a 51-year-old female.
Were it not for the roadside barriers stopping the Police vehicle after being hit by SMITH then the police car would have plunged 66ft from the Tees flyover near Middlesborough last December.
SMITH was sentenced to nine years imprisonment whilst his passenger and cohort was jailed for 3.5 years.
Carter (the passenger), 26, admitted to robbery and Smith, 28, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, robbery, driving while disqualified and two counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.
A post published on Cleveland Polices’ Facebook page said:
‘Today, 28-year-old Terence Smith of Fransham Road in Middlesbrough was sentenced to 9 years and 7 months in prison for robbery and deliberately driving into a police vehicle in an attempt to escape from officers.
His passenger, 26-year-old Dale Carter of Linmoor Avenue in Middlesbrough, was sentenced to 42 months in prison for committing a robbery earlier the same day (Friday 22nd December 2017).
The pair robbed a 51-year-old woman after following her from a cash point in Guisborough.
She was dragged to the floor during the incident and had her handbag stolen containing cash, bank cards and her phone.
Smith and Carter made off from police across the A19 Tees flyover later that evening, and rammed a police car, leaving two officers injured and affected psychologically.
Thankfully, a crash barrier stopped their vehicle from plunging 66 feet over the edge of the bridge onto waste ground below.
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Dramatic footage of the incident and photographs of the damage show the trail of devastation left behind.
Chief Inspector Graham Milne, from the Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit, said: “As police officers the public would rightly expect us to protect them, which is ultimately what we join the police service to do, however, we all expect to go to work and return home to our families at the end of each day.
“This incident could have ended tragically, at the hands of two men who desperately wanted to escape police after committing a robbery earlier in the day. Police officers are human and have families waiting for them at home just like everyone else.
“I would like to praise the two officers involved for their incredible bravery, and I would hope that the sentences handed down today stand as a warning to anyone who thinks it is acceptable to try to escape justice.”
SMITH could be seen sobbing in Court after the sentence was handed down to him whilst CARTER could be heard to say to SMITH ‘you’ll be alright – man’ according to reports on Teeside Live.
During proceedings, the Court heard how hooded Carter went up to the 51-year-old female victim and grabbed her bag which she held on to ‘for dear life’, said prosecutor Paul Abrahams.
She was subsequently violently dragged on to the floor and into a busy road where she banged her head.
The victim cannot remember what happened after that and was taken to hospital for treatment to a superficial cut to her head.
Carter and Smith then climbed into a Ford Focus that was driven fast and aggressively by Smith.
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Officers in a BMW X5 spotted the pair fleeing in their Focus as it travelled towards them on Portrack Lane, Stockton .
PCs Anthony Cairns and Paul Faulkner gave chase in their BMW X5 and headed on to the A19 , trying to prevent the suspects exiting on to the A66.
Mr Abrahams said: “Eventually it struck the police car while on the A19 flyover, causing it to lose control at about 80mph. It hit the flyover barrier at significant speed.”
While the vehicle and barrier were damaged there were no ‘significant’ injuries.
After ramming the Police, SMITH led more police officers on a further 6 mile pursuit at speeds in excess of 90mph along the A66 and into the Ormesby Road area, running red lights and travelling on the wrong side of the road at high speeds.
It was only by sheer luck that a member of the public was not killed by the pair as they ran like cowards from the crime that they had just committed.
Eventually both occupants of the car got out and ran off as they were chased by police.
Carter was later found cowering in undergrowth in Pallister Park, Middlesbrough, and SMITH was located at his home address by Officers after the manhunt was stepped up by Police.
As a result of the high-speed crash, PC Cairns sustained a blood clot below his ribs while PC Faulkner suffered discomfort and tenderness to his body and his right arm was bandaged.
SMITH and CARTER had more than 150 previous offences between them – 119 for Carter, 34 for Smith.
It leaves the question as to why prolific career criminals are allowed, time-and-time again, to mingle with society?
We should not have to endure the criminality of individuals who have ZERO respect for anyone, including themselves.
Career criminals should be locked up FOR LIFE and should NEVER be released.
We do not pay our extortionate taxes for the Judiciary just to let career criminals continue with their chosen paths of causing misery and pain to others.
These individuals have given nothing to society and yet they deem it fit to take as much as they can.
Anyone with any sense of common sense will no-doubt agree, that if you have notched up 119 convictions then it is pretty obvious that you have decided to become one of life’s losers.
And whilst yes, people DO make mistakes (I myself was arrested twice when I was a teenager) if you decide not to learn from your mistakes then you MUST pay the consequences.
I learnt by my own mistakes when I was a teenager and went on to serve in the emergency services and armed forces before starting up my own successful business.
Is there anything ‘special’ about me? absolutely 100% not – I just know that hard work brings rewards and that being a decent person is what we should aspire to be.
But they who decide to live their lives as criminals SHOULD NOT be allowed to live amongst decent, hard-working people.
We all deserve a second chance.
But we do not deserve to have our lives ruined by selfish, mindless career criminals who make it their mission to ruin the lives of others, in order that they can satisfy their evil intent and greed.
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