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04
May
Court round-up: Shop thief in Harrogate, man's car collides with butchers in Knaresborough
The Stray Ferret spent the afternoon at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday (April 30).
We sat through a number of hearings, which included cases of failing to report an accident and theft.
You can read reports on cases below.
A Harrogate man has been sentenced after stealing more than £500 worth of goods from shops in Harrogate.
Martin Sumner, 45, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday (April 30) where he spoke to confirm his name, age and address.
Sumner, of Duchy Road, admitted six counts of theft, which included goods totalling £522.90.
The court heard that the 45-year-old had stolen items including clothes and candles from TK Maxx in Harrogate and £16 worth of food from the Co-op.
Sumner had been suffering from drug addiction, his defence said, and stole the items after he was evicted from his previous property.
Magistrates sentenced the 45-year-old to a 12-month community order, which included 10 rehabilitation activity days and a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement.
He was also ordered to pay compensation of £522.90 to the stores.
Man failed to report accident in Knaresborough
A man has been given a conditional discharge after failing to report an accident in Knaresborough.
David Drazewski, 26, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court where he spoke to confirm his name, age and address.
He admitted one count of being in charge of a vehicle which caused damage to a property but failing to report the accident on November 11 last year.
Antony Farrell, prosecuting, told the court that Drazewski was in charge of a car which scraped down the side of Appleton’s Butchers on Market Place at 11pm.
Mr Farrell said the 26-year-old then got out of his car to inspect the damage to his own vehicle before driving off and failing to report it to police.
Peter Minnikin, defending, told the court that the case was not a matter of failing to stop for an accident, but rather a failure to notify police.
Mr Minnikin said there were no damage to any other cars and there was no suggestion that Drazewski was abusive to anyone when he inspected his own vehicle.
He added that Drazewski said he did not report the accident as he thought there was only damage to his own car.
He said:
It is simply ignorance of the law to a certain extent.
The court heard that Drazewski had been banned from driving in February 2026 for a separate offence.
Magistrates handed the defendant a six-month conditional discharge and endorsed his driving licence with five points.
He was ordered to pay a victims’ surcharge of £26 and court costs of £85.
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