Here is a round up of some of the court cases heard in North and West Cumbria over the week.
Suspended jail term for Egremont man who had knife Whitehaven pub
John Sloan, 62, of Main Street, Egremont, committed the offence at the Bransty Arch Wetherspoons in Whitehaven on February 5 this year, Carlisle Crown Court heard.
He was sentenced after pleading guilty during an earlier hearing, when he was told he faced the risk of an immediate “minimum term” six-month jail term because he had previously committed a similar offence.
The police version of what happened suggested he had “brandished” the weapon, but Sloan denied that version of events.
He said he simply opened the bag in which he had the knife and showed it to a friend so he could admire it.
Driver's carelessness led to rear end collision that injured second motorist
A motorist who collided with a stationary car at traffic lights in Carlisle has been left with a court bill of £202.
John James Brown, 33, of Dukeswood Road, Longtown, committed the offence on October 23 last year at Peter Lane, Carlisle’s Rickergate court heard.
He pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention.
Man 'lost his temper' and kicked window out of police vehicle after being arrested
A man ‘lost his temper’ and kicked a window out of a police vehicle after being arrested in a neighbourhood dispute over music.
Benjamin Leigh, 35, was arrested in Whitehaven in the early hours of May 3. He was put in the rear cage of a police vehicle, Workington Magistrates’ Court heard.
Pamela Fee, prosecuting, said the defendant then kicked a window out of the vehicle. He was arrested for criminal damage.
John Cooper, defending, said Leigh had originally been arrested in a neighbourhood dispute over music.
Motorist 'highly intoxicated' behind the wheel given four-year ban
A motorist found ‘highly intoxicated’ behind the wheel has been banned from the roads for four years.
Karen Trainor, 38, was attempting to drive a vehicle on a car park in Workington on the afternoon of April 12.
Pamela Fee, prosecuting at Workington Magistrates’ Court, said police arrived and found Trainor in the driver’s side of the vehicle.
Her son was preventing her from driving away.
Relationship breakup led to man harassing his ex
A woman who was being harassed by her former partner told the police he sent her “vile and condescending messages.”
At Carlisle’s Rickergate court, 67-year-old David Hood pleaded guilty to a charge of harassment without violence, having committed the offence between April 19 and 24. The offence was outlined for magistrates as Carlisle’s Rickergate Court.
Prosecutor George Shelley said Hood and the victim had been in an “on-off” relationship for four or five years but matters came to a head on the morning of April 19.
Man who was angry about his pet rabbit being run over assaulted a police officer
A Penrith man who was "angry and upset" after one of his neighbours ran over his pet rabbit assaulted a police officer.
George Gabura, 37, committed the offence by angrily kicking a police van door after an officer detained him and put him in the rear of the vehicle in handcuffs, Carlisle’s Rickergate court heard.
Magistrates accepted that he had not intended or anticipated the door he kicked then hitting the officer who was behind it.
Motorist with 'appalling drink-drive record' was given wrong driving ban
A motorist with an ‘appalling’ drink-drive record wasn't banned for long enough when he was last in court, it has emerged - after his sentence was mistakenly given in weeks, not months.
Gary Robinson, 36, should have been banned from driving for 56 months in July 2020 when he was convicted of driving while disqualified and drink-driving.
But in a court error, which only came to light on Monday when Robinson was brought back before magistrates for another road traffic offence, Robinson had been given the ban in weeks – not months.
Prolific west Cumbrian shoplifted travelled to beat ban from local shops
A prolific thief who is banned from most of the shops in her hometown of Workington switched her attention to Carlisle.
Lindsay Thompson, 39, whose criminal record features 45 previous thefts, came to the city on May 4 and first stole from TK Maxx before then moving on to River Island, Carlisle’s Rickergate court heard.
She admitted both offences.
Tragic death of teen at Appleby Horse Fair was 'accidental', inquest hears
The death of a 15-year-old boy who fell from the back of a moving horse trailer at Appleby Horse Fair in 2023 was accidental, an inquest has heard.
Denis Ward, of Bradford, West Yorkshire, was seen by a number of eyewitnesses falling from a sulky (a small cart with two wheels), which was affixed to a trailer pulled by a moving pickup truck, on June 9, 2023.
Denis was seen falling backwards and hitting his head on the road, as the vehicle turned left at a fork from the ‘chaotic’ Battlebarrow road in Appleby, towards the A66.
BMW driver in Boxing Day crash was drug driving
A young motorist whose car crashed and overturned on Boxing Day on a country road near Penrith was drug driving.
The BMW car being driven by 21-year-old Isla Harfield shortly before midnight on December 26 last year collided with a drystone wall before ending up on its side, magistrates heard.
A blood test later confirmed there were traces of cannabis and a cocaine breakdown product in her system, though the defendant was over the limit only for the latter substance.
Drink-driver with McDonald's takeaway told police he only had two pints
A drink-driver caught pulling up outside his house with a McDonald’s takeaway told police, ‘I’ve only had two pints’.
Stacey Coats, 42, was seen by officers driving a Mercedes-Benz on Homewood Road in Whitehaven on April 30 and appeared to be driving in excess of the 30mph limit.
Pamela Fee, prosecuting at Workington Magistrates’ Court, said police had to reach speeds of 50mph to keep up with him.
Aggressive parent threatened to 'smash teacher's face in' for making student cry
A multi-academy trust has warned aggressive behaviour towards staff ‘will not be tolerated’ after a parent was brought before a court for threatening a teacher.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, threatened to ‘smash a teacher’s face in’ at a west Cumbrian school, which was almost put into a lockdown due to the man's aggression.
He was fined at Workington Magistrates’ Court on Monday after he admitted causing a disturbance on school premises.
Accused in the Paul Taylor 'murder' case due back in crown court next month
The man accused of murdering Annan man Paul Taylor and attempting to murder a second man has appeared before a judge at Carlisle Crown Court.
Jack Crawley, 20, of Sheehan Crescent, Carlisle, denies both allegations.
A second Carlisle man, 20-year-old Marcus Goodfellow, denies "assisting an offender," the alleged murderer, by helping to dispose of a car.
Victim subjected to 26 hours of torture later took his own life, court told
A vulnerable Whitehaven man who was sadistically 'tortured' by people he considered friends as they held him captive later took his own life, a court heard.
The tragic aftermath of the treatment meted out to Sam McMahon, who jumped to his death from a high building in Barrow, was revealed as a Carlisle Crown Court judge sentenced two of his attackers.
A prosecutor had outlined disturbing details of the extreme violence inflicted on Mr McMahon by 36-year-old Dane Eldridge-Dalton and his pal James Martin, 51.
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