Man felt pressured into being a criminal

Published on 7th June 2007 in News

Giving in to peer pressure proved costly for one young man this week when he appeared in court to face two charges of attempted vehicle theft.

Samuel Dickinson (20), of Little Orchard, Hook, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted vehicle thefts at Goole Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, but claimed that he was talked into the crimes by another man, and was too "frightened" to say no.

Prosecutor Mrs Julie Laverack Glanville told the court that on February 24 this year a motorist had securely parked his blue Vauxhall Corsa outside his Rawcliffe Bridge home, but was woken in the night by the sound of banging and looked outside to see three figures running away from the car. One of the car doors was left open but nothing had been stolen from the vehicle.

A week later, shortly after midnight on March 3, a witness contacted the police after people were seen drinking cans of beer and attempting to break into a green Vauxhall Corsa on Mount Pleasant Road in Goole.

When they arrived at the scene, police found that one of the car doors had been forced open and an area search found Mr Dickinson hiding behind a wall in Coniston Way.

He denied having anything to do with an attempted car theft and said that he had been out in Goole town centre and had got into a fight in The Jailhouse pub, and was hiding from his attacker.

But police matched saliva on beer cans at the scene of the attempted theft to that of Mr Dickinson, and discovered that blood found on the stereo of the car that crooks broke into a week earlier also matched Mr Dickinson. He later admitted his involvement in the crimes, claiming that it was his friend who was 'into cars' and he was merely drunk at the time of the attempted thefts.

Defending, Miss Amanda Holmes said that Mr Dickinson had been so drunk at the time of the attempted thefts that he could not remember his involvement in them. Prior to the incidents he had been approached by a man who was more "criminally experienced" than himself, with a view to becoming involved in car thefts.

Miss Holmes told the court: "It was not Mr Dickinson's idea to steal the cars but he felt intimidated by the other man, and was frightened of what the repercussions could be if he walked away."

Magistrates ruled that Mr Dickinson should carry out 110 hours of unpaid work in the community as a result of the two offences. He was also ordered to pay £55 in court costs.