2 days ago
'Stupid' Nottingham dad jumped out of moving car during high-speed police chase
A Nottingham father who owns three businesses 'was stupid in the extreme' when he jumped out of a moving car during a high-speed police chase. Nottingham Crown Court was told how Jayden Greenfield had a passenger in the Mercedes when he carried out the dangerous manoeuvre in an attempt to flee.
The 26-year-old, who has twin daughters aged seven, also veered towards a marked vehicle in an apparent attempt to ram it off the road during the pursuit through Bulwell. But as the case is more than three years old and he has stayed out of trouble since, he has escaped an immediate prison term.
Handing him a 12-month jail term, suspended for 18 months, Judge Steven Coupland said: 'On that day the police had reasonable grounds to stop and speak to you but you did not want to be arrested. I accept you panicked but what you did was criminal.
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'You drove off from them and your driving was incredibly dangerous. You were driving in residential streets and twice the speed limit, this was the middle of the day.
'Your turns, on occasion, saw you drive on the wrong side of the road where you had no control and you could have hit someone. At one point you veered towards the police car and you then abandoned that car when it was still moving despite having a passenger on board. Fortunately it stopped due to the emergency handbrake but you are lucky there was not a collision and lucky no one was harmed.
'I make it plain that if I were dealing with you nearer the time you did this you would be going to prison but we are now three years on and, since that time, you have demonstrated what you can do by staying out of trouble and running three businesses.'
Paul Stimson, prosecuting, said the chase began in Commercial Road, Bulwell, on the afternoon of March 2, 2022. He said the police wanted to speak to Greenfield about an unrelated matter but when they started to follow him he accelerated off at speed.
The prosecutor said: 'He reached 40mph in a 20mph limit and accelerated at high speed on Ravenshead Road, failing to stop. At one point the police car went to overtake him and signalled for him to pull over but he did not.
'He then made what was described as 'a jolty movement' with his car towards the police car in an apparent attempt to ram it off the road. He then braked hard, leaving him on the wrong side of the road and got out while it was still moving at speed and went to a nearby house where he was arrested.'
Greenfield, of Leybourne Drive, between Bestwood and Top Valley, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. Barry Grennan, mitigating, said his client has a partner of 14 years with whom he has twin daughters aged seven.
He said he also runs three businesses, one buying and selling cars and two which involve renting out and doing up properties. The barrister said: 'He has no excuse for the offence of dangerous driving, it was stupid and he drove in a dangerous way, particularly jumping out of the car while it was still moving.
'If he could turn back the clock he would, he has jeopardised everything. It was an overreaction because he had a knife in the car which he uses for fishing and other things. It was stupid in the extreme.'
As part of the suspended sentence order, the judge ordered the defendant to carry out 100 hours unpaid work and to attend 20 rehabilitation sessions. He also ordered hom to pay £1,630 prosecution costs and disqualified him from driving for a year.
