A pensioner threatened to kill a cyclist at a busy junction before grappling with him and then driving his car at him. After being arrested, 69-year-old Edward Shane continued to make threats against the life of the cyclist, demanding police reveal his name so he could arrange for an associate to carry out a "hit" on his behalf.
Cardiff Crown Court heard the cyclist described the incident outside a supermarket as a "near-death experience". Nik Strobl, prosecuting, said the offending happened on the afternoon of August 9 last year in Heidenheim Drive in Newport. He said as Shane overtook cyclist Marcus Twine in his Citroen car he beeped his horn. The cyclist thought the driver was trying to catch his attention and when he caught up with him at the traffic lights at the junction to the Sainsbury's supermarket he approached the vehicle to ask if everything was okay.
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The court heard Shane began swearing at the cyclist and threatened to kill him, telling him: "You will die on this road today." A verbal altercation ensued and the defendant then got out of his Citroen and approached the cyclist. Punches were exchanged and the two men ended up on the floor. The court heard the pair got to their feet and the defendant told his victim that if he had a gun he would shoot him and he then went to the boot of his car where he appeared to be looking for something. Shane then proceeded to chase the cyclist in and out of the stationary cars at the traffic lights before picking up Mr Twine's bike and holding it over his head. Fearing the driver was about to throw his bicycle to the ground the cyclist kicked him.
The prosecutor said Shane went back to his car and, thinking the incident was over, the cyclist began examining his damaged bike. However when Mr Twine looked up he saw Shane's Citroen, with the engine revving, coming towards him. The cyclist sought refuge behind a lamppost and the defendant drove into the post – damaging the post, his car, and the victim's bicycle in the process. Mr Twine ran off to the nearby supermarket petrol station where he borrowed a phone to call 999. The prosecutor said that in his subsequent statement the cyclist described the incident as a "near-death experience".
The court heard that when police officers arrived they could smell alcohol on Shane's breath and asked him to take a breathalyser test but he refused. Due to a cut on his head the defendant was taken to hospital for treatment where he repeatedly asked the officers to tell him the name of the cyclist involved in the incident so he could get a "hit" put on him by people he knew who were prepared to kill on his behalf. While at hospital a sample of blood was taken for analysis and tests showed Shane had 175mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood with the legal limit being 80mg. In his subsequent interview the defendant said he had not meant the words he had said to the cyclist and said they had been uttered in the heat of the moment.
Edward Shane, of Merlin Crescent, Newport, had previously pleaded guilty to making threats to kill, dangerous driving, assault by beating, criminal damage, driving with excess alcohol, and failing to provide a specimen for analysis when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has eight previous convictions for 15 offences including one for drink-driving.
Stuart John, for Shane, said the defendant's life had "unravelled" in the six or seven years following his retirement and at the time of the offending he had been "drinking extremely heavily indeed". The advocate said his client accepts full responsibility for his actions and for the impact they had on the victim.
Recorder Simon Hughes said after Shane had beeped his horn at the cyclist and they had both stopped at traffic lights a "colourful exchange" of words took place which later turned physical. He described the incident as an "appalling piece of behaviour" on the part of the defendant and said it must have been a "terrifying" experience for the victim. With a one-quarter discount for his guilty pleas Shane was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course. The defendant was banned from driving for three years and was ordered to take and pass an extended test before he get his licence back.
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