Yahoo News Dad who couldn't pay for taxi told driver 'I've got a knife'
A dad-of-two threatened a taxi driver and told him "I've got a knife in my bag" before breaking his wing mirror.
Dr Gareth Carey, 43, threatened a taxi driver and kicked off his car's wing mirror after failing to pay his £28 fare on June 25 last year. The business development manager, who has multiple PhDs in psychology and sociology, had been on a night out on Hanover Street in Liverpool City Centre when he flagged down the taxi to drive him home to Birkenhead at around 11.30pm.
However, when they arrived at his home, he failed to pay his bill using an app on his phone. An argument ensued, and the taxi driver decided to drive him to Merseyside Police headquarters.
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When they arrived, Carey said: "I'm going to do you in. I've got a knife in my bag, you b*****d". He then exited the cab and kicked it, breaking a wing mirror and causing £745 worth of damage.
He later made a full admission to police, telling them he had been drinking rum and "on a scale of one to 10, he was a nine". He admitted having a knife in his laptop bag, which had been given to him as a present after he completed a boating qualification.
Janhaka Siri, defending, said: "Carey is mortified by his actions and is extremely remorseful and ashamed of what he did that evening.
"On the day in question... he was carrying his laptop bag. The bag itself had a lock on it. He actually gave the lock to the police so they could open it. He had made attempts to secure (the knife). But regardless of whether it was in his bag or not, he made that threat. He was fairly candid with the officers. He declined to have representation."
He said Carey, in his drunken state, did not realise he had not paid the taxi driver what he was owed, and didn't know what was going on as he was driven to the police station, where the crime took place. He pleaded guilty to criminal damage and possession of a knife.
Judge David Swinnerton said the dad-of-two "should have known better". He said: "It was a foolish and reckless way to behave. It's terrifying to be threatened by a passenger and that's something taxi drivers put up with far too often. But I accept I can treat this as a one-off act of stupidity that you will never repeat."
He sentenced him to an 18 month community order, 10 rehabilitation days, and 100 hours of unpaid work. He also ordered him to pay £783 compensation to the taxi driver and £500 in court costs.
