A dangerous driver was assisted by a motorcyclist who drove alongside him and took a package through the car window before speeding off. They also pulled out in front of police and attempted to slow them down during the chase.
Khaleem Hussain, 28, was being pursued by police in Newport on November 24 last year and carried on driving with punctured tyres when police used a stinger device. A motorcyclist, who was unidentified, came to his aid and took a package from the defendant and it was only then he came to a stop.
A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Monday heard police activated their blue lights as the defendant turned the Ford Fiesta left onto New Road on the wrong side of the road and overtook another motorist. He continued onto Belmont Hill where a stinger device was located.
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Despite the tyres being punctured Hussain carried driving at 40mph and struggled to maintain control of the car. He continued driving along Royal Oak Hill and overtook vehicles on the wrong side of the road. The defendant came around a bend at speed and almost collided with a motorcyclist head-on.
Hussain turned onto Chepstow Road and Llanwern Road before turning left on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic before overtaking another car onto Hendre Farm Drive. The punctured tyres were causing the car to swerve.
At that point a motorbike over the police car and swung in front of it in an attempt to stop it following Hussain's Fiesta. The police overtook the motorcyclist as the defendant slammed on the brakes with the motorbike colliding with the police car.
Prosecutor Kathryn Lane said: "The Ford Fiesta pulled away and the police was overtaken by the same motorcyclist which pulled alongside the driver's side of the Fiesta. The defendant handed the rider of the motorcycle a big package and the motorcyclist rode off quickly."
After disposing of the package Hussain slowed down and the police removed him from the car and arrested him. When asked what he was doing the defendant responded: "Haven't got a licence have I?" He said he didn't know if the Fiesta was stolen and claimed he had bought it the day before.
Hussain, of Fleetwood Close, Newport, later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failing to stop, and driving without insurance and a licence. The court heard he had previous convictions for driving offences and was previously jailed for six years for supplying Class A drugs.
In mitigation defence barrister Gareth Williams said his client was on licence for the drugs offences and had been recalled to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. He said the defendant had told him he had let his family down and would "never drive in that way again."
Recorder Carl Harrison sentenced Hussain to 10 months imprisonment. He was also disqualified from driving for three years and five months.
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