Driver who fitted jammer to her BMW to avoid speeding fines is convicted of perverting the course of justice despite claiming she used laser to park
- Police tried to check what speed Debra Brown was doing in the BMW in 2017
- But the signal of their speed guns was jammed and they became suspicious
- Brown, 56, claimed she used a device attached to her BMW 135 to park
- Following a trial, she is found guilty of perverting the course of justice
A motorist who installed a jamming device on her car to avoid speeding fines has avoided a jail term.
Debra Brown, 56, was spotted driving her BMW 135i on a country road but when cops tried to measure her speed they found their equipment was being jammed.
Police launched an investigation and when Brown’s car was seized an examination revealed it was fitted with a Laser Pro Park device, which was connected to a Speed Cheetah.
When questioned about the device, Brown claimed it had been fitted to the vehicle to assist her when parking, Teesside Crown Court was told.
Debra Brown has been convicted of perverting the course of justice after fitting a jammer to her car to avoid speeding fines
When the device prevented police from testing her speed, she claimed it helped her to park
Brown, from the village of Appleton Wiske, North Yorkshire, denied perverting the course of justice but was convicted after a two day trial.
She avoided an immediate jail term but received a nine month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and was ordered to pay £2,000 court costs.
The court heard how on the morning of the November 10 2017, Brown was driving her BMW 135i along the A170 near the rural village of Nawton, between Helmsley and Kirbymoorside.
The crew of a safety camera van from North Yorkshire Police’s Traffic Bureau attempted to measure the speed of her vehicle four times, believing she was speeding.
However, due to interference being received from the vehicle – the safety camera was unable to determine her speed.
Following a two day hearing, a jury found her guilty of perverting the course of justice and using the jammer to avoid prosecution.
Police tried to get her speed four times but the device jammed the signal, stopping them
Passing sentence, Judge Bourne-Arton, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, said her actions undermined the system of justice.
Traffic Constable Andrew Forth said: ‘This is the seventh person to be successfully prosecuted in North Yorkshire for using a laser jammer device in an attempt to lift themselves above the law and protect themselves from a potential speeding prosecution.
‘Using this equipment in this way puts other innocent, law abiding road users at risk by people believing that they can travel at speed with complete immunity from prosecution.
‘As the result today shows, this will not be tolerated and myself and my colleagues at the North Yorkshire Police Traffic Bureau will ensure offenders are investigated and brought to justice.
‘My advice to those who have these devices fitted to their vehicles, who think they are untouchable, is – remove it.
‘This court result shows; if you are found to be using the device to pervert the course of justice, you face a criminal record and a very large fine.’
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