Cannabis users are 'bloody idiots,' says judge in court - The Coventry Observer

Cannabis users are 'bloody idiots,' says judge in court

Coventry Editorial 11th Dec, 2017   0

CANNABIS users are ‘bloody idiots’, an outspoken judge told a court.

Recorder Nicholas Syfret QC used those words when sentencing a young Coventry man at Warwick Crown Court.

Darrian Joseph had flipped his father’s ‘hot hatch’ car after crashing it into a street sign.

He had panicked and was trying to get away from the police, because he had cannabis in the car, the court heard.




Sentencing Joseph and banning him from driving for 15 months, Recorder Nicholas Syfret QC told him: “Do you realise how close you’ve come to going to prison?

“I am well aware that people of your age use cannabis. They are bloody idiots, frankly. It very often causes mental health problems in the future, it is against the law, and it often results in offences like this.


“I have no reason to think you are basically anything other than a decent young man. For goodness sake, grow up.”

Joseph (24) of Steinway, Bannerbrook Estate, Coventry, was given an eight-month prison term suspended for two years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and possessing cannabis.

He was ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work and to pay £350 costs, and was fined £100 for committing the offences while subject to an earlier suspended sentence, which has now expired.

Prosecutor Charles Crinion said at 11.20pm on January 3 the police pulled Joseph over in King William Street, Coventry, because the number plate on the MG ZR hot hatch he was driving was so dirty it could not be read.

When they got out to speak to him he seemed quite calm, and after they explained about the number plate, he apologised and wiped it clean.

With their agreement, he went into a nearby shop while they carried out checks on the car, which was registered to his father who they found was the only person insured to drive it.

They asked Joseph for his licence, at which he quickly got back into the car and sped away as one of the officers opened the door to try to grab the key.

Doing 50-60 in a 30mph zone, Joseph went through a set of red lights at the junction of Swanswell Street and Cox Street as he headed towards the ring road where he lost control.

The car mounted the kerb, hit a street sign and flipped over – but by the time the officers reached it, he had crawled out and made off on foot.

Unable to catch him, the officers returned to the MG in which they found a large bag of cannabis, although Mr Crinion said there was no evidence of how much it contained.

Joseph was not arrested until August and explained that he had bought the cannabis to smoke over a period of time, and had panicked when he realised the officers were likely to check inside the car.

And Mr Crinion pointed out that at the time Joseph was subject to a 12-month suspended prison sentence for producing cannabis after a number of plants were found growing in bedrooms at an address in Hurst Road, Coventry.

Daniel Oscroft, defending, said: “Mr Joseph is a young man who has allowed himself to take a wrong turn in life. It’s the smoking of cannabis that’s been the root of all his problems.

“He has recognised that, and has stopped smoking it. He is now working with his father, who runs a pub come restaurant, on a full-time basis as a server.”

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