May 15, 2008

Jail time for teen with passion for cars

By Anne Clarkson

A 17-year-old with a passion for cars has been jailed for 10 months after a judge heard that a home detention sentence would be ?a disaster?.

Christchurch District Court Judge Patricia Costigan was told that Casey James Broadhurst had been rude, disrespectful and threatening at home, and had not been complying with an earlier community detention sentence.

Broadhurst had been held in custody for a month after admitting eight charges including unlawfully taking vehicles, unlawfully interfering with a vehicle, theft, reckless driving, failing to stop for a police car using its flashing lights, and a breach of community detention.

The court had earlier been told that he kept driving at speed with a police car following using its flashing lights, and had passed about 10 cars including one on the left.

He had been kept in custody pending sentencing to stop him offending. He had also written a letter to the sentencing judge during the remand.

Judge Costigan said Broadhurst had a well established pattern of offending in spite of his youth. He had fines and reparations unpaid in the court system.

Motor vehicles were a real passion in his life and were prevalent in his offending.

She sentenced Broadhurst to a series of jail terms totalling 10 months and ordered that he pay reparation of $2379 beginning from two months after his release. She disqualified him from driving for a year from December 9 this year.

She noted that he had used his remand time to get help from agencies. She hoped that he would use the prison time ?productively, and learn to adopt a lifestyle free from offending?.