Latest news with #NewcastleMagistrates'Court
Daily Mirror
02-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
'First date crash' driver learns fate after collision put seven cops in hospital
A personal trainer who was taking a woman out for a first date when he caused a motorway crash injuring seven police officers was given a 14-month sentence in a young offenders institution today. Mazyar Azarbonyad was behind the wheel of a BMW which was being chased by police along the A1 near the Gateshead and Newcastle border at around 2.30am on April 9 when the collision occurred. Police initially tried to stop the 20-year-old in Swalwell, Gateshead, because a rear light was defective, but he sped away. Newcastle Magistrates' Court heard he was seen later approaching the A1 and was pursued towards Newcastle before the serious collision occurred near junction 75 at the Denton roundabout. The Iran-born defendant, from Stanley, County Durham, was granted police bail after he was questioned about the early morning incident on the A1 – during which he told officers his driving had been 's**t'. And just two days later he was back behind the wheel, driving a red Hyundai on April 11, 12, 13 and 15 to get to work at a gym in Newcastle, despite being warned not to drive and having no licence or insurance. Police saw him on a garage forecourt filling his vehicle up and arrested Azarbonyad before he told them about other times he had driven since the crash. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop twice and having no licence and no insurance during the crash on April 9, when five police vehicles were badly damaged and seven officers required hospital treatment. Simon Worthy, prosecuting, said: 'One would have thought as a matter of common sense that having been involved in something of this seriousness, plastered all over the press, the TV, the newspapers, online, that you would have been a bit more sensible about your activities, having been so lucky to get out of an accident only two days before. But no, no, you continue to stick two fingers up.' Mr Worthy said on the night of the major collision, Azarbonyad had eventually slowed down after being surrounded by police vehicles, then another unmarked car coming from behind collided with them. He said: 'In the defendant's vehicle was a lady who was on her first date with him.' Jack Lovell, defending, said Azarbonyad worked as a self-employed personal trainer at a gym in Newcastle, did not claim benefits and had no previous convictions. He was supported after coming to the UK from Iran aged 15 or 16 but that stopped when he became an adult and he has lived alone independently. Mr Lovell said the defendant had shown genuine remorse for his actions. He had been 'very foolish' to get back behind the wheel, the solicitor said. On the night of the crash, Azarbonyad was on his way to drop his date - Courtney Redfern - off home when he came to the attention of the police. 'He tells me at that point it is immediate panic,' the solicitor said. The defendant knew he should have pulled over immediately, Mr Lovell said, but after getting on the A1 and driving some distance, he did slow down, put his indicators on and gestured out of the window with his hand to show he was braking, the court heard. Mr Lovell said a number of the police vehicles manoeuvred around the BMW and helicopter footage showed he was 'essentially at a stop' when a following unmarked police Volvo, which had earlier reached speeds of 135mph, collided with them at around 80mph. 'From there, there is something of a domino effect, it flips over and then the other police vehicles are also involved,' Mr Lovell said. 'I am not in any way trying to excuse – he should not have been driving the vehicle, it is his driving that has led to the incident on the A1. He accepts that by way of his guilty plea.'
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Sycamore Gap accused committed ‘arboreal equivalent of thuggery' for ‘a laugh'
Two former friends accused of cutting down the world-famous Sycamore Gap tree committed the 'arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery,' thinking it would be 'a bit of a laugh', a jury has been told. The prosecution said Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers realised they 'weren't the big men they thought they were' when they saw the public outrage over the felling of the much-loved Northumberland landmark. Ground worker Graham, 39, and mechanic Carruthers, 32, are accused of driving overnight from Carlisle to Sycamore Gap during Storm Agnes in September 2023, and cutting the tree down with a chainsaw. A court artist sketch of Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers appearing in the dock at Newcastle Magistrates' Court (Elizabeth Cook/PA) The pair each deny two counts of criminal damage to the sycamore and to Hadrian's Wall, which was damaged when the tree fell on it. ADVERTISEMENT Making his closing speech to jurors on Wednesday, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said: 'From Felixstowe to Falkirk, from Bishop Auckland to Barnstable, up and down the country and across the world, the reaction of all right thinking people to the senseless felling of the Sycamore Gap tree has been one of sadness and anger. 'Who would do such a thing? Why would anyone do such a thing? Take something beautiful and destroy it for no good reason. 'Go to the trouble of causing irreparable and senseless damage to an adornment to the rural landscape of Northumberland, and in the process damage the ancient structure of Hadrian's wall. Then take away a souvenir of your moronic mission. Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham working together (CPS/PA) 'The public indignation, anger and downright disgust has been palpable hasn't it? 'But, so it appears, that it came as something of a shock to Adam Carruthers.' ADVERTISEMENT Mr Wright reminded jurors that Carruthers had said during his evidence that it was 'just a tree' and the reaction was 'as if somebody had been murdered'. 'And perhaps that sentiment, that lack of appreciation, actually explains a great deal about these two defendants and about why… neither of them is willing to own up to what they have done,' Mr Wright said. The defendants are jointly charged with causing criminal damage worth £622,191 to the much-photographed Northumberland tree (Owen Humphreys/PA) 'Because for all that they must have thought that this was going to be a bit of a laugh, they woke up the morning after and soon realised – as the news media rolled in, as the outrage of the public became clear… it must have dawned on them that they couldn't see anyone else smiling in there. 'And that far from being the big men they thought they were, everyone else thought that they were rather pathetic. 'Owning up to this arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery would make them public enemy number one. And neither of them has got the courage to do that.' ADVERTISEMENT Mr Wright said the two men were 'in it together from first to last'. 'The odd couple. Two men who did everything together and who, you can be sure, were together this night as well,' he told jurors. 'A team who were in it together from first to last. One to operate the saw and the other to film it. But both equally responsible.' Mr Wright told the court that a video said to be of the moment the tree was cut down, which was found on Graham's phone and had been sent to Carruthers, would have been 'gold dust' if it had been released. He said: 'And there are only two people in the world who ever had that video on their telephones. Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers.' The trial continues.
Western Telegraph
02-05-2025
- Western Telegraph
Sycamore Gap accused says friend wanted to cut down ‘most famous tree in world'
Daniel Graham said Adam Carruthers had spoken of wanting to cut down the much-loved tree beside Hadrian's Wall, keeping a piece of string in his workshop he had used to measure its circumference, and ordering a chainsaw he said was 'big enough' for the job. He also said Carruthers asked him to take the blame for the crime 'because he had mental health issues' and would be treated more leniently. Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, are on trial at Newcastle Crown Court charged with two counts each of criminal damage (Owen Humphreys/PA) Prosecutors say groundworker Graham, 39, and mechanic Carruthers, 32, drove from Carlisle overnight during Storm Agnes to the Northumberland landmark in September 2023. The pair each deny two counts of criminal damage to the sycamore and to the Roman Wall. On the fourth day of the trial at Newcastle Crown Court, Graham was asked about a call Carruthers made to him in the morning on September 28 2023. He said: 'It was Adam claiming he had cut down the Sycamore Gap tree, claiming that it was him that cut it down. 'I told him he was talking shite, I didn't believe it.' Adam Carruthers is accused of criminal damage after the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree (PA) Graham said Carruthers had spoken of wanting to cut down the tree in the past. 'He mentioned it,' he told the court. 'He mentioned a lot of things. I didn't take it seriously.' Graham said he remembered Carruthers ordering a big bar chainsaw and saying it was big enough to cover the circumference of the Sycamore Gap tree. He also said Carruthers had mentioned the Sycamore Gap tree in 2021 while they worked on his father's Land Rover. Graham said he wanted to use a piece of string on the job, but Carruthers said he could not as it was 'sentimental'. Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers appearing in the dock at Newcastle Magistrates' Court (Elizabeth Cook/PA) 'He laid this string on the floor, put it in a big circle, that was the circumference of the Sycamore Gap tree,' Graham told jurors. 'At the time I didn't know of the tree … He told me it was the most famous tree in the world.' Graham said Carruthers had used the string to measure the tree's circumference. Chris Knox, defending, said clearly two people had been involved on the night – one person cutting down the tree and one filming. Footage found on the phone of Daniel Graham of the chainsaw used to fell the Sycamore Gap tree, and a wedge of the trunk prosecutors say they took as a trophy (CPS/PA) Graham said he did not discuss with Carruthers who the other person was. 'Adam felled the tree, I don't know 100% who the other person was,' Graham said from the witness box. He told the court that after he and Carruthers had been interviewed by police, Carruthers and a friend called Lindsay Dalgleish came to his home and stood on his driveway. Asked what they discussed, Graham said: 'If it gets on top, would I take the blame, because I have mental health issues. Apparently they would be more lenient with me.' Graham said he was not keen to take the blame and said no. Chris Knox, defending, asked: 'What was their reaction?' Graham replied: 'They tried to goad us on (saying): 'Nowt will happen to you, you will get away with it.'' He said he was not the one using his Range Rover or mobile phone on the night the tree was cut down, when both have been traced to Sycamore Gap. Graham told the court he first realised his Range Rover had been taken out that night when he saw it had been moved the next morning. He said it was not unusual for him to leave his phone in the vehicle overnight because he 'liked to get away from his phone' after a day at work. And he said he also saw pictures and video on his phone that morning that had been taken the night before, including one of a chainsaw and a chunk of wood in a car boot, but told jurors: 'I didn't think much of it.' Graham said he and Carruthers were 'best of pals' in September 2023. Asked by his barrister whether Carruthers had asked to borrow the Range Rover on this occasion, Graham replied: 'Adam wouldn't need to ask to borrow anything of mine. He was welcome to it.' He told the jury other people were able to use his iPhone, including people who worked for him who used it to connect to the internet via a hot spot. Earlier, jurors were told that a man believed to be Graham made an anonymous call to the emergency services' 101 number on August 23 last year and named Carruthers as being responsible for the crime. Detective Inspector Calum Meikle, the officer in charge of the police inquiry, told the court he was 'absolutely' certain that the caller was Graham, having checked the defendant's phone records and seeing that the time of the anonymous call matched. The trial was told how the police investigation into the damage included people who had issues with the National Trust, and even a young boy who reported his brother. Mr Meikle said he looked into the claims about Mr Dalgleish, who has been named by Graham as a suspect during the trial, but was 'satisfied that he wasn't involved'. The trial continues.
Epoch Times
30-04-2025
- Epoch Times
Sycamore Gap Accused ‘Revelled in News Reports of What They Had Done' to Tree
Two friends filmed themselves in a 'moronic mission' to cut down the famous Sycamore Gap tree before keeping a wedge of the trunk as a 'trophy' and 'revelling' in their infamy when news broke the next day, prosecutors told a jury. Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers are accused of driving from Carlisle to the Northumberland beauty spot in the dead of night to chop down the tree with a chainsaw. Prosecutors say one man cut across the trunk with 'expertise and a determined, deliberate approach' while the other recorded the felling on a mobile phone. They then sent messages to each other the next day about the story going 'wild' and 'viral,' with prosecutors saying they were 'excited' about what they had done. Graham, 39, of Milbeck Stables, Carlisle, and Adam Carruthers, 32, of Church Street, Wigton, Cumbria, are each charged with two counts each of criminal damage—one to the tree and one to the ancient Roman-built wall which is a Unesco World Heritage Site—on Sept. 28, 2023. Opening the trial to jurors at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday, prosecutor Richard Wright, KC said the Sycamore Gap tree had stood for over a century in a dip next to Hadrian's Wall in the Northumberland National Park, becoming 'a famous site, reproduced countless times in photographs, feature films, and art.' Related Stories 9/30/2023 9/28/2023 Wright told jurors: 'By sunrise on Thursday, September 28, the tree had been deliberately felled with a chainsaw in an act of deliberate and mindless criminal damage.' The court heard Graham and Carruthers are accused of travelling together, in Graham's Range Rover, from the Carlisle area where they lived towards Sycamore Gap before parking, walking for around 20 minutes to the tree, and cutting it with a chainsaw. Wright told the jury: 'Though the tree had grown for over a hundred years, the act of irreparably damaging it was the work of a matter of minutes. 'Having completed their moronic mission, the pair got back into the Range Rover, and travelled back towards Carlisle. 'During that return journey Mr. Carruthers received a video of his young child from his partner. He replied to her 'I've got a better video than that.' 'Minutes later the video of the felling of the tree was sent from Graham's phone to Carruthers's phone. 'At the time of that text conversation the only people in the world who knew that the tree had been felled were the men who had cut it down.' Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers appearing in the dock at Newcastle Magistrates' Court accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree, on May 15, 2024. Elizabeth Cook/PA Jurors heard that a photo and two videos were found on Graham's phone from 2 a.m. that day showing a piece of wood next to a chainsaw in the boot of his Range Rover. The court heard that at the time Graham and Carruthers were 'friends who were regularly in each other's company.' Graham lived in Carlisle and had a groundwork company called D M Graham Groundworks while Carruthers told police during an interview he worked in property maintenance and mechanics. An investigation found the technique used to cut down the tree was a recognised technique in felling, and the position of a notch made in the trunk showed whoever did it knew the tree would fall on to the wall. The trial heard data from cell sites and automatic number plate recognition cameras showed Graham's phone and vehicle were together, travelling towards Sycamore Gap on the night that it was felled, while CCTV footage from the Twice Brewed Inn captured vehicle headlights making a left turn towards the Steel Rigg car park, which is used by people visiting Sycamore Gap, at 11:55 p.m. A video recovered from Graham's iPhone was shown to the jury, with Wright telling them it was 'extremely dark' but that they would hear 'the unmistakable sound of a chainsaw, and a tree falling.' The following morning, as the news broke, the defendants shared social media posts about it with each other, with Graham saying to Carruthers 'here we go.' Wright said Carruthers sent Graham a Facebook post from a man called Kevin Hartness saying, 'Some weak people that walk this earth disgusting behaviour.' Two minutes later Graham replied to Carruthers with a voice note saying: 'That Kevin Hartness comment. Weak … [expletive] weak? Does he realise how heavy [expletive] is?' Carruthers replied with his own voice note saying: 'I'd like to see Kevin Hartness launch an operation like we did last night … I don't think he's got the minerals.' In one message, Graham said to Carruthers 'not a bad angle on that stump,' adding, 'That's clearly a professional.' Jurors were played a voice note from Carruthers to Graham saying: 'Someone there has tagged like ITV News, BBC News, Sky News, like news, news, news. I think it's gonna go wild.' Another voice note from Graham to Carruthers at 11:17 a.m. said: 'Jeffrey [a name Carruthers uses] it's gone viral. It is worldwide. It will be on ITV news tonight.' Wright told jurors: 'They are loving it, they're revelling in it. This is the reaction of the people that did it. They still think it's funny, or clever, or big.' The Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, England, in an undated file photo. PA Wright said in the following days 'message after message' about the Sycamore Gap story were shared between them or screenshot and saved by Graham, showing they were 'gathering news of their infamy.' The court heard Graham and Carruthers's 'once close friendship appears to have unravelled,' with each of them now apparently blaming the other. Wright said: 'As we understand the defences, Graham denies that he was involved in any way. His car and his phone must have been used without his knowledge to make the journey and record the felling. 'Carruthers on the other hand denies that he had anything at all to do with the felling of the tree and will maintain that he was not present when it was cut down.' The trial continues.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Yahoo
20-Year-Old Man's First Date Ends in Police Chase Crash and 7 Injured Officers: Reports
A man has admitted to dangerous driving in court after causing a car crash which left seven police officers injured while taking a woman home from their first date, according to reports. Personal trainer Mazyar Azarbonyad, 20, sped away from police after they pursued him for a defective rear light on his BMW, sparking a chase which led to a multi-vehicle crash in Tyneside in the north of England at 2:30 a.m. on April 9, BBC News, and U.K. outlets The Independent reported. The collision involving the defendant's car and five police cars caused one of the police cars to have its roof torn off and the doors broken off, according to reports. The court heard the defendant's vehicle had almost come to a stop after being surrounded by police cars, but they were then hit by an unmarked police Volvo, which had earlier reached speeds of 135 mph, per BBC News. Seven police officers were injured and five police cars were damaged in the crash, according to the outlet. Azarbonyad, who moved to the U.K. from Iran at around age 15, confessed while appearing at Newcastle Magistrates' Court that he had no license during the crash and the woman he was with had cannabis on her at the time, the outlet added. The court heard that Azarbonyad continued to drive on four further occasions following the crash, despite being told not to as part of his bail conditions. He also admitted driving without insurance. Prosecutor Simon Worth told the defendant, per the outlet, "One would have thought as a matter of common sense ... that you would have been a bit more sensible about your activities, having been so lucky to get out of an accident only two days before. But no, no, you continue to stick two fingers up.'Jack Lovell, Azarbonyad's attorney, Jack Lovell, said in court that his client has shown genuine remorse for his actions and he was struck with 'immediate panic' when pursued by the police. He also said he was "very foolish" to drive again after the crash. per the outlet. 'I am not in any way trying to excuse - he should not have been driving the vehicle, it is his driving that has led to the incident on the A1,' said Lovell. 'He accepts that by way of his guilty plea.' Azarbonyad has no previous convictions, according to reports. He is set to be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on May 20. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. PEOPLE has reached out to Newcastle Magistrate's Court and Northumbria Police for comment. Read the original article on People
