A man drove his Range Rover at a pedestrian and ran over his foot outside a convenience store.
John Ormesher intentionally veered towards the shopper believing he had been "targeting his house" following an earlier incident. The 49-year-old claimed he had not meant to injure his victim and had instead only "intended to scare him" in retaliation, with the contact being accidental.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Thursday, that the collision occurred shortly before 10pm on September 25 last year near to the Best One store on Townsend Lane in Anfield. Ormesher's white car mounted the pavement and hit the victim, causing him minor injuries.
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Prosecuting, Chris Taylor described the crash as a "slow impact" and said the driver had been "clearly braking at the time". After his arrest, the defendant, who was suffering from schizophrenia, said he had earlier seen the complainant "up and down the street" and that there had been a "confrontation".
Ormesher, of Townsend Lane, had gone out in his vehicle and spotted the man again then "driven at him intending to scare him". Mr Taylor added: "He didn't anticipate that the manner of his driving would cause injuries in the way it has done."
CCTV footage of the smash was played to the court and showed the casualty facing the shop before being caught from behind and hopping away. Ormesher - who has 11 previous conviction for 24 offences dating back to 1994, but has not been before the courts since 2018 - then exited the 4x4 and approached the stricken customer.
He admitted dangerous driving during an earlier hearing. Michael O'Neill, defending, said: "He was likely suffering with his schizophrenic disorder at the time of the offence.
"There are very unusual circumstances surrounding the incident. The complainant doesn't know the defendant, and the defendant hadn't seen him previously.
"Given his reasoning for acting in the way he did, maybe it's explained by various mental health conditions he suffers with. He believed his house was being targeted by the complainant.
"It appears the complainant left the area at that point, but he sees him once again and goes towards him. He was intending to scare him rather than directly hit him, but nevertheless he did so and is extremely remorseful for it.
"For the past three years, he has stayed out of trouble and addressed his usage of class A drugs, but unfortunately now finds himself back before the courts for a serious offence. I seek to persuade your honour not to send my client to prison today."
Recorder Tim Harrington imposed a six-month imprisonment suspended for a year plus a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days. Ormesher was also banned from driving for a year and must pass an extended retest and pay a victim surcharge.
Sentencing, the judge said: "Normally, people who appear before the crown court having deliberately driven at someone dangerously and caused injuries can expect to go to prison. But I'm not going to send you to prison.
"It seems to me that your diagnosis has played a significant part in this. That doesn't excuse what you did, but it perhaps provides some explanation.
"It is still serious what you did and it has passed the custody threshold."
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