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Alpha Motors, Warrington Road, Goose Green
A CHEEKY thief drove off in a £35,000 BMW 4x4 after a test drive from a Wigan vehicle showroom, a court heard.
The salesman, Lee Derbyshire, became suspicious on two occasions during the test drive and did not fall for Dane Fitzwater’s ploys to get him out of the car.
But when they got back to the garage, Alpha Motors in Warrington Road, Mr Derbyshire saw Fitzwater getting out and so got out himself but Fitzwater then jumped back in and sped off.
The salesman was in front of the X5 BMW and was pushed backwards by it as Fitzwater set off but was uninjured, said Harry Pepper, prosecuting.
Fitzwater was caught filling up at a garage at the junction of the East Lancashire Road and the M6 shortly afterwards and arrested. When interviewed he claimed that he was taking it for a test drive and had permission to do so.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that he was a previous similar conviction and was also jailed in 2005 for a robbery conspiracy for which he was jailed for six years.
Fitzwater, of Sandy Lane, Hindley, pleaded guilty to theft and dangerous driving. He was sentenced to a total of 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years and placed under supervision for 12 months with attendance on a thinking skills course. He was also banned from driving for 12 months.
Harry Pepper, prosecuting, told the court that the incident happened on August 6 and Mr Derbyshire had been very shaken by it and worried that he would lose his job.
Jon Oultram, defending, said that Fitzwater has a long suffering girlfriend who is prepared to give him a final chance and his uncle, who runs his own business, has offered him a job. He has an awful lot to gain if he keeps himself on the straight and narrow,” he added.
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Comments
There are 12 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Joey Joe-Joe Junior Shabadoo
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 01:40 PMJust don't steal any bacon Mr Fitzwater, that heinous crime is punishable with a jail term! Obviously a very bright individual, his uncle has gained a valuable employee with a great eye for an opportunity. I'll keep an eye out for him at the local petrol stations.
Wiganjay
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 09:42 PMSteal a car .... Get sent on a thinking course hahaha! Yeppp - dont think this guy will offend again
working for EU and IMF Greece needs all our cash
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 08:42 PMthere solicitors come up with some bull sh*t, how do they sleep at night ? probably very comfortably. and the sentences do not fit the crime a public flogging would do better than a thinking skills course wasting more time and money.
mistrocl
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 06:39 PMHello all, joined a week or so back but this is my first post. Dane Fitzwater, now there's a great name, sounding like it should belong to some American tv celeb or Hollywood star maybe. But no, it belongs to some "chancer" who thought he would drive away with an expensive car, probably knowing that if he got caught he would only get a slap on the wrist by some bleeding heart judge. I think he should be sent on a Thinking Skills course say the powers that be...... They've certainly got their work cut out there.
cartmankenny
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 06:35 PMBritish Justice - Doesn't it just want to make you weep?
5:15
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 05:50 PMthe judge is just as daft as the pillock that got nicked............
Wandering Wiganer
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 05:19 PMThis is why all car dealerships should take a person's driving license from them before going out on a test drive. It may not stop these incidents, but it's a deterant and could reduce this type of stuff.
Mistress Ploppy
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 02:10 PMIgnore last post. I mis-read it.
Mistress Ploppy
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 02:08 PM"Harry Pepper, prosecuting, told the court that the incident happened on August 6 and Mr Derbyshire had been very shaken by it and worried that he would lose his job." - I'm surprised that he had the mental capacity to hold down any job if he thought he could pull a stunt like this, and not be caught within hours.
cowboy
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 01:29 PM[ placed under supervision for 12 months with attendance on a thinking skills course. ] whats one of them, a thinking skills course, isnt it funny that every time these scumbags appear in court that they are in the middle of changing there lives, and 1 the girlfriend is pregnant, 2 they were bullied at school,3 they had a abusive father, i could go on and on about the excuses they come up with, the 6 years sentence he got previously didnt make him change, so why should this one
Traindriver
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 01:03 PMYup, always a sad background and on the verge of turning their lives around. What utter rubbish
Baron Von Thunderclap
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 12:38 PMThese people always seem to be on the verge of 'turning their lives around' don't they?
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