He’s one of the slipperiest criminals in Wales but he keeps getting caught at his mum’s
Thomas Harvey(Image: Gwent Police)
A man branded “an absolute menace on the road” continually evaded police in a series of car chases. Thomas Harvey, a 31-year-old from Caerphilly, smashed into police vehicles as he made high-octane escapes.
Cardiff Crown Court heard an officer was driving a marked police van in Bedwas Road at 2pm on June 8 last year when he saw Harvey pass in a Vauxhall Insignia. “The officer had previous dealings with the defendant and believed he was disqualified from driving,” said prosecutor Abdallah Barakat.
“He followed the vehicle and activated his lights, signalling for the defendant to stop. But the defendant accelerated and swerved into traffic before driving through a red traffic light.”
The court heard Harvey was driving at more than 50mph in a 20mph zone where there were lots of pedestrians. He crossed a solid white line, overtook vehicles at high speed, and failed to give way at a signposted narrowing of the road. Stay in the know by making sure you’re receiving our daily newsletter
Harvey managed to get away but police then attended his mum’s address and saw him climbing through a hole in a fence at the rear of her property.
He ran through woodland to get to an Aldi car park where he had parked the Insignia, which now bore a different registration plate than in the earlier pursuit. It would turn out the previous plate had been registered to a different vehicle.
Harvey drove out of the car park at speed but was later arrested. That would not, however, be the end of him terrorising the roads of Caerphilly.
At 8.40am on February 16 this year, two officers were in a police car leaving the town’s Toby Carvery when they got a call from a colleague warning that Harvey was again driving without a licence, this time in a white Ford Transit van.
The officers saw Harvey drive the van into the car park they were in. “PC Evans stopped the car in front of the van to prevent him leaving,” said the prosecutor. “The defendant then drove towards the police vehicle and managed to pass it.
“He then reversed the van into the nearside of the police vehicle, causing damage, before speeding off. He drove through a red light and overtook vehicles dangerously.”
The court heard one of the officers suffered injuries to his back and neck from Harvey ramming the car. They lost sight of him but the force then attended the home of Harvey’s mother and saw him sitting in her Audi A3 in the driveway. It turned out he had demanded her keys to the car and although she refused he had taken them anyway.
Police tried to pull Harvey out of the car but he managed to drive away at speed. When officers spoke to his mother she revealed the car’s headlights did not work.
In the early hours of the following day, an officer in a police van searching for Harvey found him sitting inside the parked Audi. But Harvey spotted the officer and was able to evade the van, which he hit as he sped along a pavement.
Shortly afterwards, at around 4.30am, Harvey was seen in the forecourt of the Texaco petrol station in St Cenydd Road. This time he escaped by reversing at speed and running a red light.
“At one point officers deployed stingers but Harvey drove through them, deflating his tyres, and he continued to drive,” said Mr Barakat.
Around 12 minutes later, with a police helicopter overhead, the Audi was seen abandoned with Harvey having sprinted towards the Grange flats. “Officers found him there and asked him to stop,” said the prosecutor. “He refused so he was Tasered. He appeared to be laughing.”
Appearing in court over a video link from custody, Harvey smirked as his crimes were detailed. At one point, while the judge was talking, he gave a disinterested yawn.
The defendant, of no fixed address, admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance, and taking his mother’s vehicle without consent. The court heard he had 36 previous offences on his record including dangerous driving and crimes involving violence and drugs.
His barrister Christopher Evans said: “He has been remanded since February and he has been working in prison, five days a week, in waste management. This has given him structure and it is an area of work he is hoping to go into once released. He is looking towards the future.”
The judge, Recorder Neil Owen-Casey, told Harvey: “That you deliberately reversed into a police van highlights to me that you have a sense of entitlement, and no remorse has been suggested.
“This is an appalling set of offences. You are an absolute menace on the road. It is my public duty to keep you off the road for as long as I possibly can, but it concerns me that you seem to just decide to get back on the road regardless.” At this, Harvey gave another smirk.
Recorder Owen-Casey also pointed to Harvey’s “abuse of power” over his mum in demanding her keys, noting: “You attempted to use your will and might over your mother. It was that sense of entitlement again as you decided to help yourself to something you had no authority to take.”
The judge imposed a 32-month jail term and a 46-month driving ban with an extended retest before Harvey can get behind the wheel again.
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