April 19th 04, 01:14 PM
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Cyclist Jailed For Tire Slashings
LMAO -- brilliant
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"Brian Lafferty" wrote in message
.net...
When he gets out perhaps someone could give him a lift to a Hummer
dealership.
"g.hopkins" wrote in message
...
they showed this guy on TV and he looked a real odd ball, not what I
call
a
real cyclist but a weirdo with a bike. but we will all be tarred with
the
same brush
"B. Lafferty" wrote in message
ink.net...
Cyclist jailed for tyre slashing spree
Press Association
Friday April 16, 2004
The Guardian
A cyclist who slashed almost 2,000 tyres in a spate of revenge attacks
on
"inconsiderate motorists" was sentenced to 16 months in jail today.
Ashley Carpenter, 37, left a bill of £250,000 after damaging the tyres
of
548 cars, lorries and vans parked in Christchurch and Bournemouth
during
the
10-day vandalism spree.
He launched his one-man campaign after a car nearly knocked him off
his
bike
and another drenched him after driving through a puddle, Bournemouth
crown
court heard.
Carpenter, of Walpole Road, Boscombe, in Dorset, went round on his
bicycle
at night in December 2003 armed with a sharpened screwdriver and
punctured
1,728 tyres.
Recorder Stephen Lennard said the five weeks Carpenter had already
spent
in
jail would be taken into account and he would serve half the sentence
before
being released on licence.
Mr Lennard said: "In December last year, motivated by frustration and
anger
at what you considered to be the inconsiderate manner of motorists as
experienced by you as a cyclist and a pedestrian, you embarked on your
astonishing and extraordinary campaign.
"In your own words to the police, to send out a message to motorists
and
to
immobilise and inconvenience as many as possible.
"In a period of 10 to 11 days, armed with a sharpened screwdriver,
probably
sharpened for the purpose, you went out and punctured 1,728 separate
tyres
on 548 different motor vehicles in Bournemouth and Christchurch."
He added: "The scale of the damage and the financial consequences of
it
are
breathtaking."
Mr Lennard said the damage had cost £97,000 in tyre repairs alone, not
taking into account hotel bills and alternative methods of transport
needed
by the victims.
Unemployed Carpenter admitted eight charges of criminal damage at
Bournemouth magistrates court on March 24 and asked for 540 other
offences,
involving 497 vehicles in Bournemouth and 43 vehicles in Christchurch,
between December 12 and 22, to be taken into consideration.
He was arrested on January 30 after police analysed footage from CCTV
and
later found a sharpened screwdriver in his flat. Defence counsel
Robert
Grey
described Carpenter as "very much a loner" and "socially inadequate".
He
said Carpenter lived alone, had no children, no relationship and no
close
friends.
"He had not been able to discuss his frustration with others. This man
is
socially inadequate," said Mr Grey. "He perceived a number of
incidents
of
inconsiderate driving by motorists towards him. He says that twice he
was
nearly knocked off his bike by motorists and on another occasion he
was
subjected to verbal abuse by passing car drivers.
"Things built up and came to a head when he lost control ... he says
it
was
to inconvenience other car drivers."
A spokeswoman for the AA, Rebecca Reef, said, outside court, that
pedestrians had legal protection against inconsiderate drivers and did
not
need to resort to criminal damage to "get even".
Miss Reef said: "Mr Carpenter could have chosen a simple and more
lawful
way
to get even. Had he gone to the police after he was splashed by the
car,
the
driver of the vehicle could have been fined £2,500 and received up to
nine
penalty points on his or her licence for driving without due care and
attention.
"If a driver ignores a cyclist and causes them to fall off or be
injured,
if
they drive in a manner which causes that, they can get a £5,000 fine
and
five to 10 points on their licence."
The pedestrian or cyclist would need witnesses or CCTV footage to back
up
the claim, she said. Vehicle owners were also obliged under the Road
Traffic
Act to declare who was driving at the time of any alleged incident.
"This serves as a helping hand to cyclists and as a warning to drivers
who
think it's a laugh to go through puddles that they are actually
risking
a
fine," added Miss Reef.
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said: "Carpenter resented the
inconsiderate manner in which motorists treated him as a cyclist on
the
roads. He wanted to send out a message to motorists which immobilised
and
inconvenienced as many of them as possible.
"We all work and live in the community and, at the time, we shared the
growing feelings of worry and concern as more cars were damaged night
after
night. We are pleased that our work with the police brought Carpenter
to
justice."
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
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