Robber's danger pursuit after knifepoint car theft

A robber who led police on a life-threatening pursuit in a car he had stolen at knifepoint has been jailed for more than seven years.

Thomas Lacson, 29, threatened to stab a couple outside a restaurant near Middlesbrough if they did not hand over the keys to their VW Passat, then sped around Teesside in a bid to evade police.

Judge Amanda Rippon said the couple were terrified and it was "good fortune" no one had been killed by his driving, before referring to the A66 crash, which killed seven people including two police officers in similar circumstances in August.

Lacson, who had previously been jailed for stealing a man's car at knifepoint, admitted robbery and dangerous driving.

The couple had driven to Taco Bell shortly after midnight on 30 March to get food following a work function, prosecutor John Crawford said.

They noticed Lacson, whose face was covered by balaclava, loitering nearby, and he spoke to them as they returned to the car, the court heard.

He pulled out a kitchen knife with a 6in (15cm) blade and in a "calm and composed" manner said he would stab the man if he did not give him money, the court heard.

Lacson, of Middlesbrough Road in South Bank, then demanded the man's car keys and as he drove away threatened he would "slash" the man's partner if they called police.

The couple did call police with officers spotting the stolen Passat on a nearby road minutes later, Crawford said.

As they approached the car, Lacson drove off at speed and a pursuit began.

Lacson repeatedly drove on the wrong side of the road with his headlights off, sped through red lights, mounted kerbs and caused other motorists to have to take evasive action, the court heard.

He reached speeds of 70mph on residential streets and 85mph going through red lights, with police choosing to abandon the pursuit several times due to the danger he posed.

At one point he did a U-turn and drove straight at a police car narrowly missing it.

Eventually the Passat was stopped after a stinger device was used to puncture the tyres, but Lacson attempted to flee on foot before being detained, Crawford said.

He was found to be over the drink drive limit and refused to do a drug test, the court heard.

In statements read to the court, the couple said they were shocked by the robbery, with the woman saying she had since been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.

She said she feared something "awful" like the robbery could happen again, while the man said paying his insurance excess and getting the £2,500 car fixed had cost him £1,000.

The court heard Lacson had 32 offences on his criminal record and was jailed for eight years and nine months in February 2022 for another robbery and dangerous driving committed in Middlesbrough in May 2021.

On that occasion he threatened a motorist with a knife and drove off at speed with the victim still in the car, reaching 120mph on a 50mph stretch of the A66 making the other man fear he would be killed in a collision, the court heard.

Lacson was released under licence from that sentence in January, a few weeks before his latest robbery.

Rippon said the similarities between his offences were "striking", with Lacson happy to threaten violence with a knife to steal a car.

She said the couple were terrified and had been seriously harmed by the robbery.

Lacson's driving could not have been more dangerous, the judge said, adding: "It is only through good fortune no member of the public or police officer was killed or seriously injured."

Referencing the A66 crash, Rippon said it was "only a very short time ago in the same area" that a car being "deliberately" driven on the wrong side of the road to "avoid a police pursuit" caused a "catastrophic" fatal crash.

She said driving like Lacason's was of the type that often led judges to reflect the maximum two-year prison sentence for dangerous driving was "wholly inadequate".

Concluding Lacson was a dangerous offender, Rippon jailed him for seven years and seven months and ordered he must serve a further two years five months on extended licence upon his eventual release from prison.

He was also banned from driving for 10 years.

Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram and listen to Radio Tees on BBC Sounds.