Leeds man took friend's car after Wakefield night out then begged him to drop charges, Leeds Crown Court told

A man who took his friend's car then begged him to drop the charges has avoided an immediate  jail sentence.
Leeds Crown CourtLeeds Crown Court
Leeds Crown Court

Reece Kieran Saynor-Dawson, 20, admitted taking his friend's VW Scirocco from a driveway in Normanton hours after they enjoyed a night out in Wakefield in July last year.

Prosecuting at Leeds Crown Court. Andrew Dallas said the car owner woke up the next morning to find his car and house keys missing from his jacket pocket, so sent a text message to Saynor-Dawson asking if he had taken the car, which he denied, saying he had returned to his home in Leeds by train that morning.

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Saynor-Dawson suggested that another one of the friends who had been with them during their night out may have taken it.

The police were called and arrested Saynor-Dawson, but he continued to deny taking the vehicle.

When his home was searched the keys were found in a wash basket in his bedroom, while the car was found parked a few streets away.

Two pairs of sunglasses and a phone cable were missing from the car and two of the alloy wheels had been scratched.

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After being bailed, Saynor-Dawson sent his friend a message on Facebook asking him to drop the charges in exchange for telling him where his car was parked.

He was later re-interviewed by police but refused to answer any questions.

Mitigating, Shila Whitehead described her client as being young and naive who had suffered tragedies in his life, including having a stillborn child.

She said: "It's difficult to say why he behaved the way he did.

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"There's no explanation as to why he told the police what he did other than he was very fearful at what was happening in the police station.

"The comment he made to his friend (on Facebook) was out of sheer desperation.

"He is a young man who has got some personal difficulties in his life and had somewhat of a turbulent upbringing."

Saynor-Dawson, an out-of-work labourer of Tinshill Road, Cookridge, Leeds, admitted taking the vehicle without the owner's consent and committing an act intended to pervert the course of public justice.

He also admitted having no licence or insurance.

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Judge Simon Phillips QC told him that most cases involving attempts to pervert the course of justice result in an immediate custodial sentence, but acknowledged there was "nothing sophisticated" about his request over Facebook, especially as the car had already been recovered by that point.

He jailed Saynor-Dawson for four months, suspended for 18 months, ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, handed him a 12-month driving ban and ordered him to pay £500 compensation to his friend.