U.K Police Chase : Teenager flees armed police at 100mph after he went on gun rampage to pay off drug dealer
These dramatic images show a teenager fleeing armed police at speeds of up to 100mph after he went on a gun rampage to pay off a drug dealer.
Conner Newall, 19, hijacked a car at gunpoint then held up a village post office before attempting an escape in West Cumbria - forcing officers to scramble the police helicopter.
Detectives tracked his stolen Vauxhall Corsa as he sped for 20 miles through towns and villages before being rammed off the road by a patrol car as he tried to turn into a country lane.
As officers wrestled Newell to the ground, he pleaded for mercy, yelling: ‘I don’t want to die. I’m a dead man - I owe thousands.’ It was later revealed that he owed a local gangster £1,500.
Details of the car chase emerged at Carlisle Crown Court where Newall was jailed for ten years after admitting armed robbery, possession of a firearm and dangerous driving.
The incidents occurred just a few miles from where gunman Derrick Bird, 52, shot dead 12 people and injured 11 others before killing himself during a gun rampage in June 2010.
Newall began his crime spree in Wigton at 12.45pm on November 8 last year when he ambushed motorist Donna Lancaster as she sat texting in her stationary Vauxhall Corsa.
Newall pulled open the passenger door, and calmly told her: ‘Excuse me, but I need to borrow your car.’ Miss Lancaster, 51, initially refused but then noticed the teenager had a gun under his jacket.
As she gave him the car keys, Newall pointed the gun towards Miss Lancaster’s face and told her he also wanted her mobile phone, before escaping in her car.
Miss Lancaster said she felt that ‘this was it’ and her ‘world was at an end’, the court heard. She feared she would be shot even as he drove away, said Rebecca McGregor, prosecuting.
Just after 2pm, Newall - who was masked with a black balaclava - burst into a post office and threatened postmistress Gwen Hopkinson and a colleague Amanda Harrison with the gun.
Miss McGregor said: ‘He said he wanted some money and Mrs Hopkinson laughed, believing he was joking. He told her he was not joking; that he was desperate and that he was sorry.’
Newall grabbed more than £1,200 from the till and drove off but the pursuit began after one of the women in the post office noted down the registration number of the Corsa.
Armed officers, supported by a police helicopter, spotted Newall and then began pursuing him as he drove at speeds of up to 100mph along the A596 and nearby roads, driving through junctions and narrowly avoiding crashes.
One pedestrian in the port town of Silloth had to leap out of the way as Newall sped past before roaring on through Aspatria, Allonby, and towards Maryport.
Eventually the stolen Vauxhall had its tyres punctured by a stinger device and was rammed off the road near to the village of Prospect.
The court heard Miss Lancaster could not work for a fortnight after the raid and Mrs Hopkinson’s confidence was said to be ‘shattered.’ The gun was found to be an air pistol.
Marion Weir, defending, said: ‘He now appreciates the terror that his victims must have felt. He wants to move forward and get on with his sentence and express an apology to the victims.’
But Judge Paul Batty QC told Newall: ‘You terrorised these women in two separate and very serious robberies. The court cannot be other than impressed by the actions of these officers in bringing this defendant to justice.’
Newall was also banned from driving for five years.
Detective Chief Inspector Mike Brown of Cumbria Police said after the case: ‘Newall not only caused huge distress to the women he threatened with a gun, but could have seriously hurt or killed someone through his reckless driving.
‘The back story to this case is that this was all driven by the defendant’s involvement in drugs, and the debts he had accrued as a consequence.
'This, yet again, highlights how drugs can have such a devastating effect on people’s lives.
‘Indirectly drugs have led to decent people becoming victims of serious crime, not to mention the untold long-term psychological effects that these events may have on them.
‘In addition the family of this lad will also suffer as a result of his decision to get involved in drugs and this should yet again serve as a significant warning to others.
‘If you get involved with drugs this can be the end result. Here is a young man that will be wasting a significant part of his life behind bars.’
Conner Newall, 19, hijacked a car at gunpoint then held up a village post office before attempting an escape in West Cumbria - forcing officers to scramble the police helicopter.
Detectives tracked his stolen Vauxhall Corsa as he sped for 20 miles through towns and villages before being rammed off the road by a patrol car as he tried to turn into a country lane.
As officers wrestled Newell to the ground, he pleaded for mercy, yelling: ‘I don’t want to die. I’m a dead man - I owe thousands.’ It was later revealed that he owed a local gangster £1,500.
Details of the car chase emerged at Carlisle Crown Court where Newall was jailed for ten years after admitting armed robbery, possession of a firearm and dangerous driving.
The incidents occurred just a few miles from where gunman Derrick Bird, 52, shot dead 12 people and injured 11 others before killing himself during a gun rampage in June 2010.
Newall began his crime spree in Wigton at 12.45pm on November 8 last year when he ambushed motorist Donna Lancaster as she sat texting in her stationary Vauxhall Corsa.
Newall pulled open the passenger door, and calmly told her: ‘Excuse me, but I need to borrow your car.’ Miss Lancaster, 51, initially refused but then noticed the teenager had a gun under his jacket.
As she gave him the car keys, Newall pointed the gun towards Miss Lancaster’s face and told her he also wanted her mobile phone, before escaping in her car.
Miss Lancaster said she felt that ‘this was it’ and her ‘world was at an end’, the court heard. She feared she would be shot even as he drove away, said Rebecca McGregor, prosecuting.
Just after 2pm, Newall - who was masked with a black balaclava - burst into a post office and threatened postmistress Gwen Hopkinson and a colleague Amanda Harrison with the gun.
Miss McGregor said: ‘He said he wanted some money and Mrs Hopkinson laughed, believing he was joking. He told her he was not joking; that he was desperate and that he was sorry.’
Newall grabbed more than £1,200 from the till and drove off but the pursuit began after one of the women in the post office noted down the registration number of the Corsa.
Armed officers, supported by a police helicopter, spotted Newall and then began pursuing him as he drove at speeds of up to 100mph along the A596 and nearby roads, driving through junctions and narrowly avoiding crashes.
One pedestrian in the port town of Silloth had to leap out of the way as Newall sped past before roaring on through Aspatria, Allonby, and towards Maryport.
Eventually the stolen Vauxhall had its tyres punctured by a stinger device and was rammed off the road near to the village of Prospect.
The court heard Miss Lancaster could not work for a fortnight after the raid and Mrs Hopkinson’s confidence was said to be ‘shattered.’ The gun was found to be an air pistol.
Marion Weir, defending, said: ‘He now appreciates the terror that his victims must have felt. He wants to move forward and get on with his sentence and express an apology to the victims.’
But Judge Paul Batty QC told Newall: ‘You terrorised these women in two separate and very serious robberies. The court cannot be other than impressed by the actions of these officers in bringing this defendant to justice.’
Newall was also banned from driving for five years.
Detective Chief Inspector Mike Brown of Cumbria Police said after the case: ‘Newall not only caused huge distress to the women he threatened with a gun, but could have seriously hurt or killed someone through his reckless driving.
‘The back story to this case is that this was all driven by the defendant’s involvement in drugs, and the debts he had accrued as a consequence.
'This, yet again, highlights how drugs can have such a devastating effect on people’s lives.
‘Indirectly drugs have led to decent people becoming victims of serious crime, not to mention the untold long-term psychological effects that these events may have on them.
‘In addition the family of this lad will also suffer as a result of his decision to get involved in drugs and this should yet again serve as a significant warning to others.
‘If you get involved with drugs this can be the end result. Here is a young man that will be wasting a significant part of his life behind bars.’
Source : DailyMail
Comments
Post a Comment