Yahoo News Furious motorist slams door as he storms out of court after being found guilty of dangerous driving by jury
A bad-tempered Grimsby motorist was so furious about being convicted by a jury of dangerous driving that he angrily told the judge that the decision had completely destroyed his faith in the British justice system.
Elias Gabbitas was so disgusted at being found guilty after a hair-raising police chase through the streets of Hull that he repeatedly banged and slammed the internal doors of the courtroom as he stormed out of court. Gabbitas, 25, of Haven Gardens, Grimsby, denied dangerous driving in Hull on February 24 last year but he was convicted by a jury at Hull Crown Court after a trial.
Oliver Shipley, prosecuting, said that a policeman in Cottingham Road, Hull, spotted a red Toyota Aygo drive past his patrol car, heading towards Beverley. The officer pulled up behind it and signalled for it to stop by illuminating his flashing blue lights.
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The Toyota made a number of turns on to other streets at a slow speed before coming to a stop and then "strangely" reversing into a space on Hardy Street. The officer approached the driver – Gabbitas – and asked him to get out of the car.
Gabbitas refused and he would not get out of the car, claiming that the officer had no legal power to pull him over. "The defendant continued to argue with the officers for several minutes before accelerating forward and driving away towards Cottingham Road," said Mr Shipley.
"What followed was a five-minute police chase. He first drove down Beverley Road at speed towards Hull city centre, crossing on to the wrong side of the road and narrowly missing a pedestrian crossing the road. He then continued at speed on to Freetown Way and travelled down Holderness Road. He turned left on to New Cleveland Street towards the Mount Pleasant roundabout.
"At this point, the defendant drove over the central reservation and around the roundabout in the wrong direction. The vehicle eventually came to a stop.
"Even at this point, the defendant refused to get out of the car and so force was used by officers to arrest him. The incident was captured from start to finish on the officer's body-worn video camera and also the CCTV cameras that are installed at various points around the city."
The prosecution claimed that the driving by Gabbitas fell far below the standard expected of a careful and competent driver and that it was obvious that driving in that manner was dangerous.
During police interview, Gabbitas denied that he was argumentative or that he refused to get out of the car. He claimed that there was no reason for him to get out of the car and that the suspicion of alcohol was not a reason.
"He explained how he felt threatened by the officer so he accelerated away due to threats of violence," said Mr Shipley. "He said that he gave cars space while overtaking them, which is why he was on the other side of the road."
Mr Shipley told the jury: "The prosecution say that the CCTV footage showing the defendant driving above the speed limit, swerving to miss pedestrians, driving the wrong way around the roundabout and over a central reservation – all while being pursued by a police car – demonstrates that his driving was plainly dangerous," said Mr Shipley.
During the trial, Gabbitas claimed that he acted under duress because of the actions of the police and that was why he drove off. He denied that his driving was dangerous.
Sentence was adjourned for reports and Gabbitas was warned that it was possible that he could be jailed at the next hearing in what would be a borderline decision. He was allowed bail until the next hearing in May.
As he left the dock, Gabbitas stopped and stood and faced the judge directly and told him that the guilty verdict had convinced him that there was no justice and that he had lost all faith in the justice system.
As he left the courtroom, he repeatedly banged and slammed the two sets of internal doors. Within minutes, however, he was grinning broadly as he left the court building.
