Taxi Driver Jailed For Faking Attack In Scarborough
22 October 2009
A taxi driver has been jailed for four months after falsely claiming she was the victim of an attempted robbery in Scarborough.
Jade Victoria Fowler, 24, suffered a self-inflicted arm injury and persisted with her false allegation for several weeks, resulting in a man being arrested and questioned.
She even spoke about the "robbery" to the Evening News's sister paper, the Bridlington Free Press, and posed for photographs with a heavily bandaged arm.
York Crown Court heard the defendant's taxi business had been in dire financial trouble at the time and that Fowler, who suffers from a form of attention seeking disorder, had acted naively and immaturely.
Joseph Spencer, prosecuting, told the court that on February 1, this year, Fowler, of Burlington New Road, Bridlington, was asked by a former schoolmate to run him from Bridlington to Scarborough.
The friend paid some of the fare up front, promising to pay the rest on arrival, but then made off without paying.
The court heard the man, who had been cautioned for his actions, was initially arrested for robbery after Fowler made the false allegation that she had been attacked by two passengers and claiming to have suffered a hand injury.
He said the police spent several hours investigating the robbery allegation and that it was only the suspicions of a detective which led to the truth being revealed.
He added that the man had been "scared" that he was going to be locked up for something he had not done.
The court heard that during Fowler's press interviews the reporter also became suspicious that something was not right and that Fowler was annoyed at not being chosen to take part in a pilot scheme to fit local taxis with CCTV.
Even when arrested and quizzed about her story Fowler stuck to it, saying to police officers: "So I'm the one with broken bones being arrested", and only admitted her guilt on the day her trial was due to take place.
Fowler admitted a charge of perverting the course of public justice.
For Fowler, Andrew Wilson, mitigating, said his client had gone along with the story after her mother contacted the police and the local newspaper on her behalf.
Adding that Fowler's business had been tens of thousands of pounds in debt, Mr Wilson said his client had made suicide attempts in the past and, during the course of this prosecution, had made another attempt to end her own life .
Passing sentence, The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, said that a miscarriage of justice could have happened if it had not been for the "nous" of DC Adam Normanton in realising something was not right with Fowler's story.
Source; scarborougheveningnews.co.uk
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