Court Round-Up: The latest convictions to be heard at Harrogate Magistrates' Court

The following were heard at North Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court on July 26:

David John Lomas, 53, of St James Street, Wetherby, received a six-month motoring ban for failing to identify the driver involved in an alleged road-traffic offence. Lomas denied failing to provide police with information relating to the driver of a BMW but was found guilty in his absence. He was fined £660 and ordered to pay £90 prosecution costs, along with a statutory surcharge of £264. A further allegation of speeding on the A64 in July 2022 was withdrawn by the prosecution.

Mac Regan, 52, of Stonebeck Avenue, Harrogate, was fined £530 and had six points added to his licence for speeding on the A65 at Skipton. He was riding a Yahama FZ1 which was travelling at over 60mph on December 3 last year. He was ordered to pay £110 costs and a £212 surcharge.

The following was heard at North Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court on July 27:

Ion Mardari, 59, of Kingsway, Huby, received an eight-month motoring ban for driving while disqualified. He was driving a Peugeot on the A658 at Huby when the offence was detected on January 23. He was fined £307 and ordered to pay £85 costs, along with a £123 surcharge. There was no separate penalty for speeding on a 30mph stretch of the road.

The following were heard at North Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court on July 28:

John Areias, 54, of Riverside Park, Knaresborough, was fined £66 for breaching a community order. Areias failed to comply with the order by missing an unpaid-work session in March and a probation appointment in May. He was ordered to pay a £26 statutory surcharge.

Max Hindmarsh, 19, of Redfearn Mews, Harrogate, was re-sentenced for drug-driving after breaching his community order. He failed to comply with the requirements by missing two rehabilitation-activity appointments in June. The original order was imposed in April after Hindmarsh was convicted of driving a Subaru Impreza with an excess level of cannabis. This order was revoked and replaced with a new 12-month community order which includes 140 hours of unpaid work and up to 20 days’ rehabilitation activity.

Ryan Hopper, 20, of Bower Street, Harrogate, was ordered to engage in further rehabilitation work for breaching a suspended prison sentence. He failed to comply with the community requirements by skipping an unpaid-work session in June and a rehabilitation appointment in July. The original suspended sentence was imposed on June 1 for making a threat to kill and assaulting an emergency worker. The new 26-week suspended jail sentence includes up to five days’ extra rehabilitation activity. It was ordered that the original requirements, including an alcohol-treatment programme and unpaid work, should continue.

Joe McKenna, 32, of Bower Street, Harrogate, was re-sentenced for a series of shop thefts after failing to comply with his community order. He breached the order by violating curfew requirements on four separate occasions between April 23 and 30. The original order, imposed on April 20 for several shoplifting offences and assault, was revoked and replaced with a new 18-month community sentence with a six-month alcohol-treatment programme, a 17-week doorstep curfew and up to 30 days’ rehabilitation activity.

Ethan Wells-Smith, 29, of Westcliffe Grove, Harrogate, was fined £500 for breaching a suspended prison sentence. He failed to comply with the community requirements of the order, which was imposed in November 2022, by missing two unpaid-work sessions in June this year. He was ordered to pay a £200 surcharge to fund victim services, but the suspended sentence wasn’t activated because Wells-Smith had just become a father, had found steady employment and there was a “realistic prospect” of rehabilitation.

Jason Macleod, 38, of Stonefall Place, Harrogate, was fined £166 for breaching a community order. He failed to comply with the order by missing three unpaid-work sessions in May. He was ordered to pay a £66 surcharge.

Bernard Anthony Collins, 61, of Lead Lane, Ripon, was fined £108 and had four points added to his licence for speeding. He was driving a Mitsubishi on the A658 at Huby at a speed exceeding 30mph in October 2021. He was ordered to pay £105 costs and a £34 surcharge. He denied a further allegation of failing to identify a driver suspected of a motoring offence. This allegation was withdrawn by the prosecution.