A notorious York man who stole a car from a woman who had just popped into a shop then led police on a white-knuckle car chase through city streets has been jailed for 14 months.
Adam Humpherson, 37, had stolen from a supermarket in Bootham just ten minutes before swooping on the Renault Clio after the woman nipped into the Tesco Express store in Gillygate, leaving the keys in the ignition ad the engine running, York Crown Court heard.
Humpherson was seen looking at the Clio “interestedly” before jumping into the vehicle and driving off in it, apparently to a friend’s house on the outskirts of York, before driving back towards the city about 40 minutes later where police spotted the stolen car on Tadcaster Road.
Prosecutor Jonathan Foy said police switched on the blue lights and pursued the stolen car as it sped past York Racecourse in wet conditions and turned into “extremely narrow” residential side streets in the Bishopthorpe Road area with cars parked either side of the road.
Police dashcam footage of the chase, at about 11pm on 30 July last year, showed the Clio bouncing over speed bumps on streets including Brunswick Street and South Bank Avenue as it squeezed between the parked cars in the narrowest of margins.
It then sped onto Bishopthorpe Road and turned left onto Nunnery Lane, then shot through red lights at the junction with Blossom Street near Micklegate as he turned left then immediately performed a U-turn, before being boxed in by police vehicles.
With nowhere to go and bang to rights, Humpherson put the car into reverse and rammed a police car, damaging the vehicle and the Clio. He was wrestled from the driver’s seat and arrested.
Humpherson, who had never passed his full driving test, was taken in for questioning but refused to provide a sample for analysis. He was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and with no insurance, and released on bail or under investigation.
Three months after those offences, the brazen thief stole alcohol from the Co-op in Stonebow and simply walked outside, sat on a bench and started supping the stolen booze on a bench outside the shop, in full view of staff.
Police were called out and arrested him again.
Humpherson, of Rowntree Avenue, was ultimately charged with dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and with no insurance, and two counts of shop theft.
‘Unstable existence’
He didn’t turn up to his first scheduled appearance at the magistrates’ court because he was “incapacitated” through drink, but ultimately admitted all matters. He wasn’t charged with failing to provide a specimen.
He appeared for sentence on Thursday (21 March) when the court heard that Humpherson had stolen a delivery van outside the Tesco Express store in Gillygate moments before driving off in the woman’s Clio, but he was only charged with stealing the latter because the delivery driver didn’t want to press charges.
The theft of the delivery vehicle happened just moments after Humpherson had stolen two bottles of wine and seven gin & tonic cans from the Sainsbury’s store in Bootham.
As he left the shop with the stolen goods, he warned the shopkeeper: “Don’t touch me or I’ll do you.”
Humpherson had a long criminal record for offences including serious violence, robbery, shoplifting, drug matters, driving while disqualified and being drunk and disorderly.
His rap sheet, dating back more than 20 years, also included a previous conviction for dangerous driving which resulted in a 14-month jail sentence and driving ban in March 2021.
In that incident, Humpherson, who was a learner driver at the time, drove the wrong way along the A64 around York during an 80mph police chase.
Defence barrister Emily Hassell said Humpherson led an “unstable existence” and that he had been “intermittently” homeless.
Recorder Andrew Dallas condemned Humpherson for his dangerous driving at “high speeds” and said it was evident that the notorious York man simply didn’t care about shop staff seeing him shoplifting because “you thought you could get away with it”.
Humpherson received a 14-month jail sentence but will only spend half of that behind bars before being released on prison licence. He received a three-year driving ban.