Man charged with 29 motoring offences avoids jail

Friday 09 March 2018

A 25-year-old man charged with nearly 30 motoring offences, including performing 'wheelies' with a dirt bike and driving without insurance, has narrowly avoided jail.

Jordan Lee Crespel was sentenced to 110 hours of community service as well as a 12-month probation order and ordered to pay a £450 fine in the Magistrates' Court this week. He faced a number of charges including dangerous driving, driving without insurance and failing to wear a seatbelt.

The 29 charges arose from a series of incidents which took place between March and May 2017, but ultimately not all of them were pursued.

On 28 March, Crespel was stopped near Motormall on St. John's Road as officers in the area thought he was driving his motorcycle dangerously and at a high speed.

On 11 April, at around 22:25, a police officer stationed close to La Fregate saw Crespel doing 'wheelies' with a dirt bike from Victoria Avenue to Gloucester Street. Legal adviser Lauren Hallam told Court that it appeared that he was either racing or messing around with another motorbike. At the time of the incident, traffic was reduced to two lines due to one being closed and there were lots of other vehicles in the area. The police officer followed Crespel and found him close to the Albert Pier Terminal and cautioned him. 

On 25 April, Crespel was pulled over as he was driving a silver Ford Focus without a seatbelt on. He was asked to provide a proof of insurance within seven days but failed to do so, although he was insured.

On 1 May, at 22:55, Crespel used his horn while a police officer was doing a speed check on the westbound carriageway of Victoria Avenue. He was later found at Bel Royal kiosk car park and said someone else had sounded their horn. Again he was asked to produce a proof of insurance within a week but did not do so. 

Pictured: Crespel was once spotted doing 'wheelies' on a dirt bike on Victoria Avenue.  (Google Maps)

Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris said that there were three "headline offences" among all the charges faced by Crespel - two of dangerous driving and one of driving without insurance. He noted: "Clearly with his record, which is very poor, he is at very high risk of custodial sentence."

Noting that Crespel had nine previous convictions of driving without insurance, he told Crespel: "You are only 25, you are not an old man." He added: "You have a very bad record when it comes to motoring. Admittingly a number of the offences are from back when you were a teenager... No one can make you comply with orders, you just have to do it."

For the dangerous driving incident only, Mr Harris sentenced Crespel to 50 hours of community service, equivalent to one month in prison. He also disqualified him for 12 months and put him under probation for the same duration.

He added a further 60 hours of community service for the offence of driving without insurance, which he said was the most serious one. "You are a danger to the public when you are not insured. You are not covered even if someone else is responsible. This clearly crosses the custodial threshold," he told Crespel. He however opted for a community service order to make "allowance" for the time Crespel spent in custody.

Mr Harris warned Crespel to comply with the 110 hours to keep out of prison and avoid five months in custody. For the various "minor offences", the Assistant Magistrate ordered Crespel to pay a total of £450. He also disqualified Crespel for a total 18 months.