Vandal lied about taxi driver attacks

THE damage caused to the taxi of driver Shakeel Zeb

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A MAN who denied smashing three taxis in Clarksfield, claiming it was an insurance scam, had his "fanciful" and "unbelievable" defence thrown out.

Forklift driver Amadu Bari (32), of Raleigh Close, Oldham, was found guilty at Tameside Magistrates Court of three counts of criminal damage on Friday.

Commenting after the verdict, victims Mr Shakeel Zeb (34) told the Chronicle: "It was a great result. He was lying and they caught him out lying. I was out of work for five days. Being self-employed, if we don't work then we don't make the money."

Bari went on a vandalism spree, smashing three taxis in Brewerton Road, Clarksfield ­- including Mr Zeb's - in the early hours of November 5 last year, causing thousands of pounds' worth of damage.

Bari's defence was that he had met a woman named Nicola earlier that day and they had used the same taxi firm several times. But on the last journey, there had been a dispute with the driver about the fare and he claimed that the driver called other taxi drivers round to beat him up.

Smashed

He then said that one of them was armed with a shovel stick and when he grabbed it from him, this resulted in him accidentally hitting a taxi.

He said one of them smashed the taxi as a way to cover up the assault and to make a false insurance claim.

This account was disputed by the drivers ­- Mr Zeb, Adnan Sherani and Mohammed Lodhi.

The court first heard from Mr Zeb, who said he was watching television in bed at about 2.30am when he heard banging sounds.

When he looked out of the window, he said he saw Bari smash his windscreen and wing mirror with what appeared to be a bar.

He got out of the house and was then told by his neighbour Mr Sherani that he had phoned the police as someone had also smashed his car before making off towards Lees Road.

Mr Zeb then ran in the same direction. At the same time, his friend drove past in his car with other friends inside. He told them what happened and told them to get in and they went to find Bari.

When they spotted Bari, they got out of the car and chased him. Bari ran away and got into the back of a car, which happened to be an unmarked police car.

Defending Bari, Mark Shanks asked the drivers if they had made up the story to benefit financially from the incident.

Each of them had to pay excess towards the insurance of their taxis. They said Bonfire Night is a busy night and they would have lost money.

Mr Sherani said: "I'm not financially better off, I'm still struggling because of this."

He also asked why they had taken their taxis in for repair days after the incident rather than straight away.

All three said that they had to wait until after the weekend and that they had to make an appointment to book their cars in to be repaired.

Mr Shanks also put forward the case that Mr Zeb and his friends had assaulted Bari, and that the defendant had run to the police car out of fear. Mr Zeb said: "I haven't touched this man ­- your suggestion is wrong."

PCs Adam Clark and Amy Parrott were parked near Glodwick Road, off Lees Road, on an undercover operation when Bari jumped in their car. He was then arrested. Both officers said he smelled strongly of alcohol and appeared agitated.

Bari claimed the woman he was with had put vodka in his Red Bull without his knowledge and that he was not drunk.

Both officers also said if Bari had said he had been assaulted this would have been logged.

Injuries

Prosecuting, Joseph O'Connor said Bari's injuries were not consistent with the beating he had described.

He said: "The driver was so angry that he got his friends to come down to beat you? His friends had no reason to be angry with you.

"Nicola is not here to support you today. Is that because what you're saying is not true, that she is not prepared to lie for you?

"You said you paid the fare in full but then they decided to assault you anyway. It's fanciful isn't it? The account of your injuries you say you received isn't consistent with what the officers say were on you.

"For whatever reason you were drunk and in possession of a metal bar, a spade handle. In a drunken state you were smashing car windows. You were chased by a group of males who were rightly upset.

"You have made up this account to evade responsibility for what you have been seen doing."

Mr Shanks, however, said Bari, who came from Guinea Bissau in 2004, was a person who generally tried to keep his head down.

He added: "All we have is statements and complaints and invoices. Those were between three to five days later. Quite simply, the damage could have been caused at any time. There are large holes in this."

But magistrates ruled in favour of the witnesses. Magistrate Dr Robert Morrissey said the bench found the accounts from the taxi drivers and the two police officers consistent and reliable.

He said: "We found Mr Bari's interpretation of events as inconsistent and unbelievable. We find you guilty of the charges."

Magistrates sentenced him to a 16-week curfew from 9pm and 5am. He must pay compensation of £790 to Mr Lodhi, £510 to Mr Sherani and £800 to Mr Zeb.