No jail for repeat thief who rammed into police car and left officer injured
A thief who crashed into an unmarked police car and left an officer injured as he tried to evade capture has been given a suspended sentence.
Ellis Sands, 20, appeared in Shrewsbury Crown Court, for sentencing for a spree of crimes including thefts from stores to fuel his drug habit and possessing a stolen car and driving it dangerously.
Mr Recorder Julian Taylor said he was giving Sands a chance to deal with his drug habit by suspending a 21-month sentence in a young offenders institute for two years and ordering him to complete nine months drug rehabilitation and 35 days rehabilitation.
But he stressed that if Ellis broke the conditions of the order or committed other offences he would be brought back in front of him and would be sent into custody.
Sands, of Meadow Road, Dawley, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, handling stolen goods, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.
He had also admitted in the magistrates court 11 charges of thefts from shops, an attempt theft and criminal damage as well as common assault on a security guard.
Mr Recorder Taylor was told that, on the afternoon of August 5 last year, Sands drove a stolen Skoda around the Arleston area of Telford, deliberately crashing into an unmarked police car and forcing other motorists into evasive action before he hid the car in Wellington.
The car had been stolen from a driveway in Wellington, where the house was also burgled for the keys and other items. An officer in an unmarked car spotted the Skoda and gave chase. Sands crashed into him, causing the officer to suffer injuries to his back, neck, ankle and wrists.
Other police vehicles and a helicopter were alerted. Sands drove in the wrong lane towards oncoming traffic, causing motorists to take evading action to avoid a head-on collision.
When Sands was arrested two hours after the chase began he said to officers: “Who were the sausages in the black (BMW) X5? They couldn’t catch me could they?”
Mr Philip Beardwell, prosecuting said Sands embarked in a spree of thefts from shops in Telford in September and October last year. They included Morrisons in Wellington where Sands was spotted wrapping bottles of alcohol in tin foil to evade security machines. When stopped by the security guard he elbowed him, cracking his victim's ribs.
Mr Robert Edwards, for Sands, said his client had been exploited by a County Lines drug gang.
He had lived his life purely committing offences to fund his next drugs fix, he said. He was now concentrating on dealing with his drug addiction treatment and living with his grandparents.
Mr Recorder Taylor said: "Many would think I should send you to prison but you would come out afterwards without any rehabilitation.
"You drove at over 100 miles an hour and on the wrong side of the road."
"You left a lot of distress and inconvenience in your wake."
