2 days ago
He forced his way through traffic and nearly knocked people over but laughed when shown CCTV
He forced his way through traffic and nearly knocked people over but laughed when shown CCTV
James Osmond drove dangerously in three separate police pursuits in just two weeks but found video of his offending shown to him by police funny
James Osmond
(Image: South Wales Police )
A driver led police on three separate dangerous pursuits in the space of just two weeks, a court has heard. During the spree of offending James Osmond hit multiple cars, "forced" his way through traffic, raced through red lights, and narrowly avoided knocking down pedestrians.
When shown CCTV footage of his driving following his arrest he laughed at the clips. At the time of the offending, Osmond was out of prison on licence following his involvement in a gang attack which saw two men stabbed and cars smashed with baseball bats.
Swansea Crown Court heard the defendant had previous convictions for aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, affray, and conspiracy to supply drugs but the 25-year-old's barrister told the court he had now disassociated himself from his previous peer group and negative influences and "simply wants to get back to being a dad and a provider".
Dean Pulling, prosecuting, told the court that at 4.30pm on January 13 this year plain-clothes police officers in an unmarked vehicle were keeping watch on the activities of known drug-users around Swansea's Dyfatty flats as part of the on-going Operation Sceptre initiative.
He said the officers became suspicious of the movements of a Nissan Navara pickup and followed it as it drove into the city centre.
The court heard the pickup stopped outside the Eli Jenkins pub in Oxford Street and a woman got out. At that point the officers alighted their vehicle and approached the Nissan - Osmond responded by speeding off and going through a red traffic light at the junction with Dillwyn Street, narrowly avoiding pedestrians who were crossing the road.
Article continues below
The officers followed the Nissan as it sped along The Kingsway and onto Christina Street and then Walter Road at which point they lost sight of it. The details of the pickup were circulated to fellow officers. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter
The court heard the Navara was then spotted by firearms officers the following day parked outside a shop in Morriston. Osmond was seen to get into the vehicle and a pursuit ensued with officers following him along Neath Road, but the court heard that, due to the dangerous nature of the defendant's driving, the pursuing officers were stood down.
The prosecutor said Osmond headed for Landore and was seen to drive at speed through the area's narrow residential streets with members of the public reporting the pickup "swerving from side to side" and colliding with cars.
One of the cars Osmond hit was being driven by a mum who had her young child in the back. The Navara was subsequently found abandoned in Cwmbwrla.
The court heard Osmond came to the attention of police again on January 30 when officers in Penlan signalled for a Peugeot van containing three men to pull over.
The van sped away but not before officers had recognised the driver. With Osmond at the wheel the van carried out a series of dangerous overtaking manoeuvres, went the wrong way round roundabouts, and "forced" its way through busy traffic, hitting a number of vehicles as it did so, including an unmarked police car being driven by an officer who was in the area on an unrelated job.
The court heard the defendant was finally arrested on April 20 after he was located in the Cwmdu area. Osmond answered "no comment" to all questions asked in interview but was noted to laugh when shown CCTV clips of his driving around Swansea.
James Michael Osmond, formerly of Middle Road, Gendros, Swansea, but now of Vicarage Road, Cwmdu, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of dangerous driving and driving without insurance in relation to the Peugeot van when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
He had also previously pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited item - namely a mobile phone - in prison. This offence took place in May, 2023, when Osmond was being held on remand at HMP Cardiff.
The court heard the L8Star "mini mobile" was found hidden in Osmond's bed in his cell after a prison scanner had picked up phone use on the wing.
Osmond initially denied any knowledge of the phone but a download of its SIM card showed it had been used to call the same numbers the defendant had stored in his authorised prison phone contacts known as the "PIN list".
The court heard Osmond had convictions for eight previous offences on his record including aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, violent disorder, and conspiracy to supply Class A drugs,
In June, 2023, the defendant was sentenced to 30 months in prison for affray and possession of an offensive weapon for his part in a gang attack on people in cars at the Sketty Cross junction in Swansea.
That offence saw Osmond and others in a convoy of cars attack their targets with weapons including baseball bats before "parading around" in front of frightened members of the public.
Two men later went to hospital with stab wounds but refused to co-operate with police. The court head that the day before the Sketty Cross disorder a petrol bomb had been thrown through the window of the defendant's mother's house.
He was out of prison on licence for the affray matter when he committed the three counts of dangerous driving before the court.
In January, 2021, Osmond was jailed for aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving after driving a friend's car "erratically" through Gendros - including at one stage swerving back and forth across the road "like a racing car driver trying to warm up his tyres" - before speeding off from police, mounting the pavement and crashing into a parked car.
The Gendros offending happened just a few weeks after the defedant had been let out of a young offenders institution after serving less than a third of a sentence for conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.
The drug trafficking conviction followed police stopping a car containing three males in Brynmelyn in Swansea - the teenage Osmond was found with a Kinder Egg capsule containing wraps of heroin hidden "in his genital area" while a search of the car revealed a pickaxe, an air pistol, cash, and a mobile phone containing messages relating to dealing.
Hywel Davies, for Osmond, said at the time of the offending the defendant's mental health had deteriorated significantly following medical issues with his partner.
He said his client was "bitterly missing" his young daughter while being in custody and had removed himself from his previous negative peers and lifestyle and "simply wants to get back to being a dad and a provider".
Judge Geraint Walters said that in all his time at the Bar he could not recall a defendant committing three separate pieces of dangerous driving in the space of a fortnight.
With discounts for his guilty pleas the defendant was sentenced to a total of three years in prison.
He will serve no more than half that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Osmond was disqualified from driving for a period of four-and-a-half years and must pass an extended test before he can get a new licence.
Article continues below
The judge made a depravation order for the Nissan Navara.
