A “SCRAPPER” who decided to go straight was arrested for walking away from the police when he was driving back from a wedding reception.
Just two months before Neil McMahon was caught behind the wheel of the 2018 car, he was given a 10-month suspended sentence for a brawl.
And on Tuesday the Oxford Crown Court judge who granted him the respite said he would not do his duty if he did not send the 32-year-old to jail.
Judge Ian Pringle QC had him jailed for a total of 18 months and told McMahon, “Make something of your life when you get out.”
Prosecutor Cathy Olliver said police officers were driving Woodstock Road in Oxford at around 11:30 p.m. on July 6, 2021 when they saw a car approaching them in the middle of the street.
The officers had to use the bus lane to avoid the oncoming Audi. When they turned back and lit their flashing lights and sirens, McMahon – who had four passengers in the car – drove away quickly.
He turned onto St. Margaret’s Road, turned left onto Kingston Road, and got 50 mph in the 20 mph zone. The car has been described as “flying” over the mini-roundabout at the top of Walton Street.
McMahon left the car on Great Clarendon Street but was quickly caught. He had a small bag of cocaine in his pocket and refused to hand out a sample when he was taken to the police station.
Peter du Feu said his client was at The Trout Inn, Wolvercote, to celebrate someone else’s wedding on the night of the police chase.
The celebration’s travel arrangements were deemed “misunderstood” as one of the guests decided to head back into town, but McMahon took the wheel halfway down Woodstock Road.
In a letter to the judge, McMahon apologized for his return to the dock, describing it as a “reality check” and saw the impact of his incarceration on his partner, son and family. “This is a real excuse for my stupid mistake,” he wrote.
Mr du Feu admitted that his client – a “scrapper” – had already been convicted of violence, but said that he had not had any trouble for some time.
McMahon, of Ferry Hinksey Road, Oxford, pleaded guilty in the district court to driving hazardous, driving without insurance or a license, and failing to provide a sample for analysis. He was banned from driving for three years and nine months and has to pass an extended repeat test.
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