Newcastle brothers lied about car theft after police pursuit
- Published
The brothers were sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court
Two brothers who lied about a car of theirs being stolen to cover up one of them leading police in a high-speed pursuit have been sentenced.
Mohammed Rahul, 24, drove his BMW at 80mph on the wrong side of a 30mph road to evade police in Newcastle, the city's crown court heard.
As he fled, Mohammed Kasham, 26, called police to say Rahul was in Birmingham and the car had been stolen.
Rahul was jailed for nine months, Kasham 18 weeks suspended for a year.
The court heard an officer spotted a BMW driving at speed along Jesmond Road at about 01:00 GMT on 19 March 2020.
Prosecutors said the police car pulled up next to the BMW at traffic lights and saw a male driver and female driver.
The car drove off at speed and after initially stopping when the police vehicle turned on its blue lights, it sped away when the officer got out.
'Doomed to failure'
Traffic police then pursued the vehicle and saw it doing 80mph on the wrong side of a 30mph road and driving the wrong way around a roundabout.
While he was fleeing, Rahul called his brother Kasham and demanded he reported the car stolen which he then did, the court heard.
His Honour Judge Jonathan Sandiford KC, the Recorder of Newcastle, said Kasham was a "very foolish young man" for going along with his brother's plot and the lie was "always doomed to failure".
Police were able to match Rahul's mobile phone movements with those of his BMW as recorded by the vehicle's tracker, as well as logs of calls between the brothers during the pursuit.
The officer who first saw Rahul behind the wheel was also able to identify him from previously taken mugshots.
Unpaid work
Both brothers, of St Michael's Close in Newcastle, admitted perverting the course of justice with Rahul also admitting dangerous driving.
The court heard he was currently serving a four-and-a-half year sentence at HMP Wealstun for various offences including dangerous driving and possession with intent to supply drugs.
The judge said due to the three-and-a-half year gap between his police pursuit and being sentenced, the new nine-month jail term would be served concurrently to his existing sentence which he received in September last year.
Kasham, who was described as being of previous good character, was also ordered to carry out 120 hours' unpaid work.
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