Skoda driver high on cannabis led police on 'shockingly-bad' Leeds chase
He later said he panicked claiming he did not know it was the police
A weed-smoking driver who tried to outrun police during a dangerous chase has narrowly avoided being locked up.
Mohammed Ilahi was behind the wheel of a Skoda Yeti in the West Park area of Leeds.
He admitted dangerous driving, but only on the day he was due to stand trial. He had previously admitted possession of cannabis after being found to have a joint in his pocket on his arrest.
Leeds Crown Court heard that officers had seen the vehicle at around 4.45pm on April 13, on Butcher Hill.
Suspicious and following from a distance, they watched him pick up a passenger and then tried to stop the car by pulling in front of him, but he just drove around them and accelerated away.
Watchguard footage of the chase which took them along Fillingfir Road and Harrogate Road was played to the court.
It only came to an end when several police cars carried out a tactical boxing-in manoeuvre forcing him to stop.
Along with the joint, the 35-year-old failed a roadside swipe test that showed he was over the drug-drive limit, although no further action was taken.
Ilahi, of Dalby Avenue, Bradford, has three previous convictions, including dangerous driving.
Mitigating, Leila Taleb said that Ilahi “had the good sense to plead guilty”, although conceded it was at a late stage.
She said he was tackling his addiction to cannabis, but had long-standing kidney problems and spent his life “in and out of hospital”.
She said there was genuine remorse for the police chase.
But the judge, Recorder Craig Hassall KC, rejected the notion that Ilahi did not know it was the police, saying the blue lights were clear.
He told him: “It was a case of shockingly-bad driving by you. You repeatedly drove at grossly excessive speed and carried out a number of very obviously highly-dangerous manoeuvres.
“There was a persistent disregard for the safety of other road users.”
He gave him an 18 months sentence, but opted to suspend it for 18 months, saying he had been “just persuaded”.
He also gave him 120 hours of unpaid work, 15 rehabilitation days with probation and handed him an 18-month driving ban.