Teen carjacker caught with loaded Browning pistol after high-speed Leeds police chase
A teenager involved in a carjacking in Leeds was later found to be carrying a full-working pistol with live ammunition.
The car owner was attacked with a stun gun and threatened with zombie knives before Kevardo Fray and his pals took off in his Vauxhall Astra.
Driven by 18-year-old Fray, the car was then involved in a dangerous chase with police the next day before he was finally apprehended and found carrying the loaded Browning 9mm pistol.
Appearing at Leeds Crown Court via video link from HMP Lincoln, where he was being held on remand, he was handed a lengthy jail term.
The Astra owner had been sat waiting with his engine running on Reginald Street in Chapeltown at 8.50pm on August 30 last year, the court heard.
He was on his phone when three males approached. One then leaned in through the open window and dug something into his neck, which he realised was stun gun.
Diving over to the passenger side, they tried to use the weapon again and another male pulled out a large zombie knife. In fear, the victim got out and tried to run, pursued by the group.
He tripped over and the three stood over him, ordering him to empty his pockets. They took a pendant chain from his neck and he offered them his watch, but they were not interested.
They then got into his still-running car and took off.
The next day the Astra was spotted in the East End Park area by police who began to give chase when it took off at speed.
Following a pursuit that took them through Harehills Avenue, Compton Crescent, and Roundhay Road, Fray eventually abandoned the car and tried to run, but an officer withdrew his Taser, forcing Fray to raise his hands.
They found the loaded pistol in a manbag he was carrying.
He gave a no comment interview with the police. His mobile phone was examined and GPS tracking allowed them to clarify that he was at the scene of the carjacking the previous day.
Fray, of Newton Lodge Drive, Chapeltown, admitted robbery, dangerous driving, possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of a gun in a public place, possession of ammunition in public and possession of ammunition without a certificate.
Mitigating, Richard Canning pointed to Fray’s young age and said that the pistol was never brandished.
Judge Howard Crowson acknowledged he was not the leading figure in the carjacking and that peer pressure was a factor.
But he said the mandatory five-year jail sentence for gun possession could not be argued against.
He jailed him for a further 30 months for the robbery, taking it to a total of seven years and six months in a young offender institute.
He was also given a 57-month driving ban.