Drunk bike thief gets hit by car… and finally goes to jail

A drunken thief who threatened a cyclist, stole his bike and then crashed it into a car as the police gave chase has been jailed, reports the Leicester Mercury.

The theft occurred in Leicester back in August 2009 when Dominic James Flude, 26, approached the cyclist, asked for a cigarette then took the bike, threatening violence if challenged.

As he rode off the bike’s owner flagged down a police vehicle and an officer gave chase on foot before Flude struck the car, damaging the bike and landing himself in hospital.

A trial date was set for November 2009 but Flude failed to appear and was not re-arrested until January of this year, at which point he changed his plea to guilty.
He was bailed to a hostel in Leicester in order to be assessed for a community-based punishment but after breaching hostel rules by getting drunk he was remanded in custody.

Jailing Flude for three months for the theft and a month for the bail offence Judge Michael Pert QC said: "I really did give you a chance on the last occasion [by offering the prospect of a community-based sentence] and you didn't take it.”