A COUPLE who misled police for months about a fake burglary have been spared jail.
Ethan Davies, of Ffordd Gwilym in Wrexham, appeared at Mold Crown Court on on Monday for sentence alongside co-defendant Chloe Brand, of Ffordd Offa in Rhos.
Davies, 23, had previously admitted one offence of dangerous driving, which took place on various Wrexham roads, as well as committing an act with intent to pervert the course of public justice.
Brand, 21, had admitted one offence of committing an act with intent to pervert the course of public justice.
Laura Knightly, prosecuting, told the court that just after 10pm on March 16 last year, police spotted an Audi leaving Gresford.
Checks confirmed there was no insurance on the vehicle.
Officers followed the Audi on blue lights, and despite stopping briefly, the vehicle made off at speed.
It was clocked at 85mph in a 40 zone, as well as accelerating to 90 and then 100mph in wet and rainy conditions.
The vehicle also went the wrong way around a roundabout and drove in excess of the speed limit in residential areas.
The vehicle was abandoned in a cul-de-sac with the driver, Davies, fleeing the scene.
But he left his bank card in the car, which led the police to his address.
At that point, Ms Knightly said, there was no damage at the property.
The following morning, Davies' mother called 999 to report a burglary at her son's flat, saying he was "hysterical."
He had told her someone had broken in by smashing the window.
When Davies spoke to police himself, he claimed to have spent the evening at the home of his partner, Chloe Brand, whom he claimed had been the one to discover the break-in at his flat.
Davies claimed his his car keys, cash and his Xbox were gone.
Brand also spoke to police and corroborated the account.
But police enquiries turned up CCTV footage revealing Davies had been driving the Audi on March 16 and that both defendants' accounts had been false.
And the pair's mobiles contained messages between them describing breaking the window themselves.
Both answered no comment when arrested, but Brand later claimed the idea about giving the false account was hers.
Further checks confirmed Davies had been disqualified at the time of the dangerous driving.
Judge Niclas Parry asked why he had not been prosecuted for driving whilst banned - to which Ms Knightly said the discovery of the ban had come too late to charge him.
She explained: "Distress was caused to Ms Davies' own mum.
"She believed her son's account and got the police involved and she has concern for her own reputation given her work as a nurse.
"There has been at least some impact on the administration of justice - it was sustained over several months."
"Long enough to stop him being done for disqualified driving," Judge Parry replied.
Duncan Bould, defending Davies, said: "This is obviously very poor decision-making.
"It's reckless in the extreme.
"He appreciates a great deal of harm could have been caused to others by his acts and knows the court will take both offences very seriously.
"During the last 18 months, there has been a change in his attitude and behaviour - he has engaged well with services and has shown he can engage with the probation service.
"He is a young man who had his own difficulties during childhood."
Mr Bould said immediate custody would see his client lose both his job and his home.
Gareth Bellis, defending Brand, made limited submissions but said his client was in a "very different position" to her co-defendant.
"She was only involved in the pervert [the course of justice offence] for a very short period.
"I think that can be distinguished between her and her partner.
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"She entered an early guilty plea, is very young, of good character and after a very careful pre-sentence report, it's suggested her risk of re-offending is very low."
Judge Parry told Davies: "This was a bad case of dangerous driving - bluntly, a police chase... high speed in dreadful conditions.
"It is quite lucky no one was injured or property damaged."
The Judge handed down 18 months custody but suspended it for two years, imposing 50 days of rehabilitation activity, 200 hours of unpaid work and a two year driving ban.
Turning to the co-defendant, he asked: "Ms Brand, what were you thinking?
"You acted out of a completely false sense of loyalty.
"The police resources used for this was shocking. A waste of time."
She received a six month custodial term but it was suspended for 12 months.
Brand must complete 25 days of rehabilitation activity and 50 hours of unpaid work.
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