Thomas Harvey (Image: Gwent Police)
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A disqualified driver who laughed after being Tasered and smirked throughout his sentencing hearing has been jailed for 32 months following a string of dangerous pursuits across Caerphilly.
Thomas Harvey, 31, of no fixed address, repeatedly took to the roads despite having no licence, ramming police vehicles, reaching speeds of more than 50mph in a 20mph zone, and at one point forcing officers to deploy a helicopter to track him down.
Sentencing
Recorder Neil Owen-Casey handed Harvey a 32-month prison sentence and a 46-month driving ban at Cardiff Crown Court. He will also be required to pass an extended retest before he can drive again.
The judge told him: “This is an appalling set of offences. You are an absolute menace on the road. It is my public duty to keep you off the road for as long as I possibly can, but it concerns me that you seem to just decide to get back on the road regardless.”
Recorder Owen-Casey also condemned Harvey’s treatment of his mother, saying: “You attempted to use your will and might over your mother. It was that sense of entitlement again as you decided to help yourself to something you had no authority to take.”
Harvey, who appeared via video link from custody, smirked as his offences were outlined and yawned while the judge was speaking.
The first pursuit – June 8 last year
An officer driving a marked police van along Bedwas Road at 2pm recognised Harvey behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Insignia and believed he was disqualified. When the officer activated his lights, Harvey accelerated away, swerving into oncoming traffic and running a red light.
Prosecutor Abdallah Barakat told the court Harvey had been travelling at more than 50mph through a 20mph zone busy with pedestrians, crossing solid white lines and overtaking vehicles at high speed.
Harvey escaped but was later spotted by officers at his mother’s address, climbing through a hole in a fence at the rear of the property. He ran through woodland to an Aldi car park where the Insignia had been parked – now displaying a different registration plate. The original plate, the court heard, had been registered to another vehicle entirely.
He drove out of the car park at speed but was subsequently arrested.
The second pursuit – February 16 this year
Two officers leaving the Toby Carvery in Caerphilly at 8.40am received a call warning that Harvey was again driving without a licence, this time in a white Ford Transit van.
When the van pulled into the same car park, PC Evans positioned the police car in front of it to block Harvey’s exit. Harvey drove towards the police vehicle, squeezed past it, then reversed into its nearside before speeding away through a red light. One officer sustained back and neck injuries from the collision.
Officers attended Harvey’s mother’s home and found him sitting in her Audi A3 on the driveway. He had demanded her keys and taken them despite her refusal. Police attempted to remove him from the vehicle but he drove off at speed. His mother told officers the car’s headlights were not working.
The overnight chase
In the early hours of February 17, an officer in a police van located Harvey sitting inside the parked Audi. Harvey spotted the officer, struck the van as he pulled away, and fled along a pavement.
Shortly after, at around 4.30am, he was seen at the Texaco petrol station forecourt in St Cenydd Road, escaping again by reversing at speed and running another red light.
Mr Barakat said: “At one point officers deployed stingers but Harvey drove through them, deflating his tyres, and he continued to drive.”
Roughly 12 minutes later, with a police helicopter overhead, the Audi was found abandoned near the Grange flats. Officers located Harvey nearby and ordered him to stop. When he refused, he was Tasered. Mr Barakat told the court: “He appeared to be laughing.”
Criminal record and mitigation
Harvey admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance, and taking his mother’s vehicle without consent. He had 36 previous offences on his record, including dangerous driving and crimes involving violence and drugs.
His barrister, Christopher Evans, told the court Harvey had been on remand since February and had been working five days a week in prison waste management, describing it as an area of employment he hoped to pursue on release.
