Drink-driver who rolled his Renault on Leeds street later claimed he was robbed at knife point
A drink driver who smashed and rolled his car later tried to claim he had been robbed at knifepoint and has his car stolen.
Joshua Carpenter had to climb out of the window of his smashed Renault Clio and fled the scene.
The 26-year-old then concocted a story claiming two men had pulled out a blade and had stolen his car keys and then his parked car, even going as far as to give descriptions of the fictitious pair to the police.
But his fanciful tale quickly unravelled, Leeds Crown Court heard this week.
He admitted perverting the course of justice and was jailed.
The court heard that Carpenter had been driving along Burley Road in Leeds at around 1.30am on September 7 last year.
He then lost control of the Clio and smashed into the back of a parked Lexus.
The Clio rolled onto its side and both cars suffered a “great deal of damage”, prosecutor Joseph Bell said.
He said the Lexus was later written off as a result.
Carpenter climbed out of the passenger side window, and despite people to coming assist, he left the scene.
Seven hours later he made a call to police reporting he had been robbed. He said the two males approached him and demanded the keys for his car and drove off.
Officers came to his home and he maintained his account, giving full descriptions.
Suspicious from the outset, officers reviewed street CCTV which captured the crash, and thought it looked like Carpenter behind the wheel.
On September 10 they arrested him, seized his mobile phone and clothing he was wearing during the crash.
They found messages on his phone to a friend, thanking him for helping him. They even joked about how Carpenter should not be drink driving.
Mitigating, Sophie Lamb said that Carpenter, of Eden Drive, Kirkstall, had never been in trouble before and added: “This has been hanging over him for over a year.
“He has acknowledged that he made a very stupid mistake.
“It was born out of panic and he immediately regretted it. He has never even been arrested before.”
She said he had a good job and the incident has had a “profound impact on him already”.
Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told him: “This offence is serious because it undermines the administration of justice in this country.
“You decided to drive that car when you were clearly unfit to drive.
“It must have been some speed you were travelling because your car eventually landed on its side.
“You decided to walk away, you rang your friend for assistance. You subsequently celebrated with him.
“It shows your attitude to what had taken place. It can only be marked by a custodial sentence.”
He jailed him for five months.