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14
Apr 2023
A former member of the armed services has been handed a community order for assaulting a taxi driver near Knaresborough.
Cameron Michael Dumsday, of Hawthorn Avenue in the town, pleaded guilty to common assault at Harrogate Magistrates' Court yesterday.
The court heard he had taken a taxi from outside McDonald's in Harrogate, along with another man, on Thursday, March 23.
During the journey to Knaresborough, the other passenger began to challenge the way the taxi was being driven, alleging the driver was speeding and cutting across junctions.
When the driver pulled over into a lay-by, the court heard Dumsday, 26, was trying to calm the situation down, but the other passenger called the police.
Dumsday then lost his temper and began making threats towards the driver, who had locked himself in the car. Prosecuting, Alison Whiteley said:
The driver then decided to try to run away, and the defendant chased him across a busy road three times before police arrived.
The court heard Dumsday, who had served four years in the army and now worked as a lorry driver, had "a short fuse" and could lose his temper when he felt he needed to defend those around him. He had two previous convictions for assaulting police officers in 2018, for which he received fines.
Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order with the requirement to undertake 20 days on a programme to help him manage his emotions.
He was fined £710 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £114, costs of £85, and compensation of £6.80 for the taxi fare and £100 for the distress caused to the taxi driver.
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