A driver 'giggled' after being caught following a high speed chase after he'd rammed a police car. Billy Johnson was driving a Fiat 500 stolen in a house burglary weeks earlier when he came to the attention of police in Heywood, Rochdale.
Police pulled him over but dad-of-six Johnson then drove off at speed. During a six minute chase through residential streets, Johnson, 30, reached 60mph in 30mph zones, sped over speed bumps and went through a red light.
Johnson eventually drove into a dead end on Cleves Court. He rammed into a police car and even drove onto a basketball court as he tried to get away, in the early hours of July 31, also reversing into a white van. Manchester Crown Court heard he and two other people in the car fled but Johnson was caught soon after.
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When he was searched, Johnson was found to have a Stanley knife, three mobile phones and 'numerous' sets of car keys. Johnson was grilled by officers but gave 'no comment' answers during a police interview.
When he was shown CCTV footage of the burglary in which the Fiat had originally been stolen, Johnson started laughing. Prosecutor William Staunton said he 'appeared to find it amusing', and 'giggled at the attempts of the occupant to stop the theft'.
Mr Staunton told how the car, said to be worth £9,000, was stolen on June 29 from the owner's house. Her partner had tried to stop the thieves from taking the car.
Johnson, of Narbonne Avenue, Eccles, was not accused of being responsible for the burglary. He pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods, dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving while disqualified and possessing a knife.
Defending, Michael James said Johnson's best mitigation was his guilty plea. He said Johnson's ramming of the police car was from a 'standing start' rather than at high speed, and over a 'very short distance'.
He'd bought the car for £200 and knew it hadn't been legitimately obtained because of the low price, Mr James said. "He wants to grow up and behave, but that's up to him," the barrister said of Johnson, who has a 'catalogue' of previous convictions.
Jailing Johnson for 22 months, Judge Timothy Smith said it was 'fortunate' that no-one was seriously injured. "There is room for people even at that time of night, being seriously injured or potentially fatally," he said.
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