On 18/02/2024 08:15, Simon Mason wrote:
A man drove at people on the pavement outside a popular social club before knocking someone down causing serious facial injuries, a court has heard. Josh Morgan lost his temper following an altercation at the bar and drove his girlfriend's car up and
down the street until he hit a man who was trying to remove the keys from the ignition. The victim suffered a smashed eye socket.
A judge at Swansea Crown Court told scaffolder Morgan that he had driven like a "lunatic" on the night in question, and had effectively used the vehicle as a "weapon". He said the defendant - who is due to become a dad in three months - could easily
have killed someone.
Craig Jones, prosecuting, told the court that the incident happened outside the Fairfield club in Townhill, Swansea, on the night of May 13 last year. He said an argument had taken place in the club during which "violence was used by a number of
individuals" and that matters had then spilled out onto the street. He said Morgan removed his top and began throwing punches before jumping into his partner's Audi A3 car and driving up and down outside the club, mounting the pavement and driving
towards people.
The court heard that one of the crowd tried to reach into the car and grab the ignition keys and as Morgan turned the car in the road he struck the other person sending him crashing to the ground. The prosecutor said the 25-year-old defendant was then "
removed from the vehicle by others present" and he "continued to remonstrate" with people at the scene. The court heard the victim was taken to Morriston Hospital A&E department where medics found multiple fractures to cheek and eye socket bones, a
separation of the jaw joint, a partially dislocated thumb, and "foreign bodies" in the knuckle joints believed to be from the road surface.
Josh Morgan, of Earl Street, Hafod, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving when he appeared in the dock from custody for sentencing. He had served four days in prison having been remanded into custody at
an earlier hearing while the judge considered sentence. The defendant has no previous convictions
Giles Hayes, for Morgan, said the behaviour exhibited by the defendant on the night in question was "very much out of character" and he was remorseful. He said Morgan was a young man with a new home and good work ethic who was expecting the birth of
his first chid with his partner in April - he said his client realised he had "jeopardised everything he has" by his conduct, and had not drunk alcohol since. The advocate added that the four nights the defendant spent in prison "had not been a joyful
experience by any stretch of the imagination".
Judge Huw Rees told Morgan that after an incident in a pub last May the defendant and others had engaged in "puerile" behaviour in the street before the defendant "took it to another level". He said Morgan had taken his partner's car and effectively
used it as a "weapon", driving up and down the road and mounting the pavement in a piece of dangerous driving "engineered and designed to be an expression of your obvious temper". He said the defendant could easily have killed someone and found himself
in the dock facing a prison sentence of many years, and he told Morgan to think about what that would mean for his family, his pregnant partner, and his unborn child.
The judge said Morgan "richly deserved" to stay in prison but he said he was persuaded that immediate custody was not necessary with the defendant having a stable relationship and a settled job in a scaffolding company where he was obviously valued,
and having a realistic prospect of rehabilitation. Morgan was sentenced to 22 months in prison suspended for 18 months, was ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work, and was banned from driving for two years.
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/car-weapon-driving-townhill-swansea-28648806
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