A drunk robber who ordered a woman and child out of a car before leading police on a high-speed pursuit has been locked up. Tyler Gillespie, aged 19, threatened a woman with a knife as she waited in the passenger seat of a friend’s car, a court heard.
Gillespie approached the woman in Leamington Drive, Sutton-in-Ashfield, shortly after midnight on (June 19) last year. After ordering her out of the vehicle – along with a toddler who was in the back seat at the time – he drove off at speed but was immediately intercepted by a marked police car on routine patrol.
The stolen car then reached speeds of up to 60 miles per hour in residential areas before Gillespie was eventually pulled over on High Pavement, Sutton, in Ashfield, and arrested. Inside the car, officers found various items Gillespie had stolen on the previous evening during a break-in on the same street.
When he was interviewed by officers, Gillespie admitted to carrying out the burglary and to taking the car, but denied ordering anyone out of the vehicle. He admitted that his actions had been "daft" and that he had eventually pulled over because he was "bladdered" and "didn’t want to die".
Gillespie, of Commercial Gate, Mansfield, later pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, dangerous driving, burglary, drink driving and driving with no insurance. He also admitted to an unrelated theft offence at a local supermarket.
He appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday (May 3) and was sentenced to four years detention at a young offenders’ institution. He was also banned from driving.
Detective Constable Adam Penn, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Gillespie put his victims through an extremely frightening ordeal and was lucky not to cause serious injury to other road users during the truly appalling display of driving that followed. It is testament to the skill and professionalism of police officers and control room staff that this pursuit was bought to a swift and safe conclusion.
“I sincerely hope that Gillespie uses this period of incarceration to reassess the way he is living his life and make positive changes to his future behaviour.”
