Homeless Leeds man found living in Audi stolen in house burglary
A stolen Audi that was chased through Leeds was being used as a home for a heroin addict, a court was told.
Nicholas Canning was behind the wheel of the A3 model which he crashed after the brief pursuit.
Officers responded to reports in the early hours of January 2 that the car was seen in south Leeds on cloned plates. It had been stolen from outside a home on December 1.
Canning U-turned when he saw police and made off, but he struck a small wall and then tried to get out and run, before being detained, prosecutor Aimilia Katsoulakis told Leeds Crown Court.
The officers found screwdrivers and a knife in the car. They also found Canning was banned from driving.
He was found guilty after a trial of handling stolen goods, fraudulently use of a registration plate, driving while disqualified, having no insurance and possession of a bladed article.
Canning, of Allenby Gardens, Beeston, also admitted possession of a kitchen knife and single wrap of heroin from February 13 last year.
Officers had seen him leave a suspected “trap house” - a property used for dealing and taking drugs - in Leeds, and arrested him.
Mitigating, Eddison Flint conceded Canning faced a custodial sentence. He said he had been on remand since July 3 after failing to show for court.
He said Canning had found himself homeless earlier this year and a friend had given him the Audi to live in.
He added that Canning has since reduced his intake of the prescribed heroin-alternative drug, methadone, and was aiming to leave illegal substances behind.
He said: “He is trying to put his best foot forward and kick the addiction that has plagued him for so long.
“He is well on the way to being drug-free.”
Judge Kate Rayfield agreed it had to be a custodial sentence because of the bladed article offences.
She jailed him for 22 months and said: “The message has to go out that people who carry knives go to prison.”