The driver convicted of using threatening or abusive behaviour towards BBC presenter Jeremy Vine has had her appeal dismissed by a judge. The BBC reports that Shanique Syrena Pearson has been jailed for nine months.
Pearson was convicted in February of driving without reasonable consideration and using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour in an incident recorded on Vine’s helmet cam last July.
The case was referred to the crown court for sentencing since Pearson was already subject to a suspended sentence for actual bodily harm and assault.
Vine rejected a suggestion by defence lawyer James O’Keeffe that he had posted the footage online as a way of “promoting himself”. He also denied that he had racially stereotyped Pearson “as a black person with a gun”.
Pearson claimed she hadn’t made a gun shape with her hand and that she had merely stuck her middle finger up at him after feeling threatened when he cycled up to the passenger window of her car.
“I know he saw me put my middle finger up because he smiled, so I know he’s not telling the truth about that.”
Speaking at the hearing, Vine said: “I felt threatened. I felt I was in danger. I felt I was dealing with a violent person. None of that was clear to me when she was in the car. It became clear through this incident as she assaulted, abused and threatened me.”
28 thoughts on “Jeremy Vine road rage driver jailed after losing appeal”
Can i be the first person to
Can i be the first person to say “GOOD!” ?
guyrwood wrote:
‘Pearson, of Vauxhall, south
‘Pearson, of Vauxhall, south London, has a string of previous convictions for robbery, thefts and assault.’ All coming out now…
Let’s hope this sets a
Let’s hope this sets a precedent and more such scum are given custodial sentences.
Is this a case that she has
Is this a case that she has only been sentance due previous/cumulative convictions!
What if this was her 1st offence…maybe a different story!!
Driver kills a ‘non-person’,
Driver kills a ‘non-person’, Met refuses to prosecute and a private prosecution is tossed out in seventeen minutes.
Driver grabs a celebrity’s bike and makes a ‘gun’ gesture. Driver is jailed for a month.
Phew! I’m so glad we don’t have a two-tier ‘justice’ system in this country!
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
Gun gesture + abusive behaviour + previous theft (sentence suspended) + previous assault (sentence suspended) + driving without insurance + driving without car tax……
Not so gobby now.
Not so gobby now.
Good, but I think there are
Good, but I think there are drivers who have got away with less for worse.
Ramuz wrote:
Agreed sadly. But at least she might think twice before trying to run one of us lesser people down next time as well. The woman seems to have serious anger management issues!
maldin wrote:
I think every cyclist is more of a person; would be more appropriate to replace “lesser people” with more vulnerable.
maldin wrote:
Sadly she won’t. Learning from past mistakes is clearly beyond her.
If michael mason had being a
If michael mason had being a serving officer in any of the armed forces and most definitely in the ‘force’ his killer would be well into doing a stretch for death by dangerous driving by now.
The double standards are sickening, not that this so called human being doesn’t deserve a ‘slap’ as David moyes would put it but as others mention, far worse getting no punishment and completely getting off scott free or simply blame their victim completely!
Helen Measures, unapologetic despicable killer.
Of course she was in the
Of course she was in the wrong but it doesn’t feel too great to try figure out the difference between this woman jailed for shouting at a celebrity and the other woman who got off free for killing someone.
Jackson wrote:
She didn’t she had her suspended sentence for previous offences invoked due to re-offending. Why is that so hard to understand?
Griff500 wrote:
Of course she was in the wrong but it doesn’t feel too great to try figure out the difference between this woman jailed for shouting at a celebrity and the other woman who got off free for killing someone.
— Griff500 She didn’t she had her suspended sentence for previous offences invoked due to re-offending. Why is that so hard to understand?— Jackson
Because the penalty for killing someone should be higher than that for not paying vehicle tax then shouting at a radio presenter. In most countries other than the UK this would not be regarded as a strange concept.
Jackson wrote:
Link to these ‘most other’ Utopian countries that prosecute all road infractions properly or lock people up when they haven’t been charged or have failed civil action just to appease cyclists, please…
Jackson wrote:
I guess that depends on whether you are locking somebody up as a punishment, or to make the roads safer. Your continual reference to locking somebody up for shouting at a radio presenter diminishes the case of a repeat offender wirh a history of theft and assault, who has repeatedly, and wilfully, flouted the law, even while under threat of a suspended sentence. The Mason case was a terrible, terrible accident, which the perpetrator, like Mason’s family will carry with her for the rest of her days. If there were one cell available, I’d personally give it to the repeat offender.
Notwithstanding that, jury trials in this country are a crock of shit. I served once, 20 years ago, and we were given no guidance or clarification of the law (death by dangerous driving) or how to treat the evidence. One juror opened the debate with “Ah just didnae like the look o’ the guy”, and the rest followed like sheep. What does evidence have to do with anything?
1. Note that the sentence was
1. Note that the sentence was one month – and probably not that much of a prolem for someone who got an overall nine months for a range of convictions.
2. The real problem of danger on the road to cyclists comes from otherwise law-abiding drivers who don’t have the realistic deterrent of licence loss for driving badly.
3. Re-licence loss: was there a ban for this person?
1. Note that the sentence was
1. Note that the sentence was one month – and probably not that much of a prolem for someone who got an overall nine months for a range of convictions.
2. The real problem of danger on the road to cyclists comes from otherwise law-abiding drivers who don’t have the realistic deterrent of licence loss for driving badly.
3. Re-licence loss: was there a ban for this person?
ChairRDRF wrote:
according to the telegraph she received no punishment for the driving issues, including untaxed vehicle… Even if though she originally pleaded guilty. She got 1 month for the threatening behaviour, the other 8 months was her suspended sentence being activated.
lols….is it because I is
lols….is it because I is black…..FFS !!
One depressing aspect might
One depressing aspect might be that a difference is that in this case the cyclist was alive to give their account of events. Given the ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ standard, killer drivers benefit significantly from being the only party left standing.
This doesn’t look good for
This doesn’t look good for Jeremy. Does his multi-cultural credentials no good. How he must wish he never posted this online.
Valbrona wrote:
yep, now he’s sure to become the new poster boy for white supremacists the world over
Drive over and reverse on
Drive over and reverse on cyclist while using mobile phone or high on drugs or alcohol = warning.
Suspended sentence and hand gesture = death penalty.
Consistency?
“He also denied that he had
“He also denied that he had racially stereotyped Pearson “as a black person with a gun.”
The fact he has to deny this is astounding, why is she a black person rather than a person or a black person rather than a black woman? Did he confuse her fingers for an actual gun?
“Pearson claimed she hadn’t made a gun shape with her hand and that she had merely stuck her middle finger up at him after feeling threatened when he cycled up to the passenger window of her car”.
Merely stuck her middle finger up – how charming. Is that the usual reaction to feeling threatened, do victims of agression generally start by attacking?
“I know he saw me put my middle finger up because he smiled, so I know he’s not telling the truth about that.”
Yeah, we all smile after someone has tried to run us over and stuck their middle finger up at us. And we should believe her, no way Vine was telling the truth and her record confirms what a decent upstanding member of the community she is.
Give me strength!
The cynic in me can’t help
The cynic in me can’t help but feel that if this had been any other joe public the judge wouldn’t have given a shit and the appeal would have been successful.
Good news all the same.