Disqualified driver jailed after being caught driving a stolen car

A disqualified driver has been sentenced to 21 months in prison and had his driving banned extended for almost five years after he drove a stolen car dangerously in a bid to avoid arrest.

At about 7.50pm on February 4 this year, a silver Alfa Romeo Giulia car which had been stolen during a burglary in Derbyshire a month earlier activated automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras in Corby.

Officers from the Force’s Roads Policing Team spotted the car in the town’s Willowbrook Road and followed it as it travelled along Rockingham Road, Lloyds Road and on to Phoenix Parkway.

At first the driver complied with the Highway Code, travelling within the speed limits, but when the officers were joined by colleagues in a second marked police car, the driver of the Alfa Romeo sped off with the police cars in pursuit.

The car reached speeds in excess of 100mph in a 40mph zone as it continued along Phoenix Parkway, as the driver – 30-year-old Jordan Lee Johnson – drove on the wrong side of the single-carriageway before heading back onto Rockingham Road.

In his bid to escape the police, Johnson forced other innocent road users to take evasive action to avoid a collision, drove the wrong way round a roundabout as he headed towards Corby Old Village, reaching speeds of 85mph.

Despite the police twice successfully using a stinger to deflate the tyres, Johnson’s driving became more dangerous and reckless and due to the increasing risk to innocent road users, officers abandoned the pursuit.

Johnson continued along Station Road and entered Oakley Road, driving the wrong way along the dual carriageway. Thinking he had escaped, Johnson turned into East Avenue, where he ran away from the vehicle.

However, officers spotted him turn off Oakley Road, and with the help of PD Ebby and her handler, Johnson was tracked from the car and found hiding under a nearby hedge. A pair of gloves and the Alfa Romeo car keys were recovered from a driveway.

Johnson, of Lapland Walk, Corby, was arrested before being subsequently charged with driving dangerously, driving while disqualified and without third party insurance.

On February 6, at Northampton Magistrates’ Court, Johnson was remanded in custody after her pleaded not guilty to the charges and his case was sent to the county’s crown court.

However, at the opening day of his trial at Northampton Crown Court on July 15, Johnson changed his pleas to guilty, and he was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment and disqualified from driving for a further four years and 11 months.

Lead investigator Detective Constable Rebecca Prodger of the North LPA CID team said: “Jordan Johnson knew he shouldn’t be behind the wheel that day, and his dangerous efforts to avoid the police demonstrate his reckless and selfish outlook.

“People who are banned from driving are banned for good reason, and we will always do all we can to make sure those who feel the rules don’t apply to them are brought to account.

“I’m really pleased to see Johnson dealt with robustly by the court and can say our roads are a safer place without him on them.”

Tragically in 2023, after being involved in a road collision in Northamptonshire, 29 people never returned home safely to their loved ones, and 271 required urgent medical assistance for serious and life-changing injuries.

Anyone with information about road safety concerns or any vehicle crime is asked to report it online at www.northants.police.uk/reportonline or call Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Always call 999 in the event of an emergency, such as a crime in progress or where life is at risk.