Cocky Leeds driver taunted police after high-speed chase, telling officer: 'You got smoked'
The BMW had been stolen in a house burglary days before
A motorist in a stolen BMW mocked police after they were unable to catch him, telling an officer: “You got smoked.”
Nathan Asquith struggled to keep control the high-powered car after a tyre burst as he desperately tried to avoid arrest, Leeds Crown Court heard.
The 39-year-old admitted a string off offences and was jailed this week.
The BMW and a Porsche had been stolen during a house burglary on June 18, in which a group of men smashed their way into the property and snatched the keys.
Doorbell camera footage showed the men then driving the valuable cars away in the early hours.
Eight days later, police spotted the BMW being driven by Asquith. It was on false registration plates and heading along Cambridge Gardens in the Bramley area.
Asquith fled when the sirens were activated, overtaking vehicles in the residential area.
He collided with a car when trying to turn into a street causing the tyre to burst, but still he continued.
He drove into oncoming traffic and was swerving as he battled to keep control.
When he got to Stanningley Road he mounted the pavement. With a pedestrian ahead, he then crossed the carriageway and mounted the pavement on the opposite side.
He came to a stop and the tailing police car collided with the back of the BMW. He then drove along a grass verge as the officers tried to box him in.
Asquith eventually stopped and put his arms out of the window, prosecutor Jessica Lister told the court.
He was dragged from the car and put on the floor, where he became verbally abusive.
He told one officer: “You were getting smoked. It was only because of the tyre,” suggesting it was the reason why he could not get away.
At the station, Asquith gave a no-comment interview.
He has 40 previous convictions for 82 offences, including multiple driving offences. He was also on a suspended sentence for breaching a non-molestation order.
Asquith, of no fixed address, admitted dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, driving while banned, without insurance and possession of cannabis.
Mitigating, Mollie Briggs, said his best mitigation were his early guilty pleas.
She said he had a “long-standing” problem with crack cocaine and addressing that while in prison was now his priority.
The judge, Recorder Robert Ward told Asquith that prison was “inevitable”.
He jailed him for 22 months in total and handed him a 32-month driving ban.