A 62-year-old shopper has been spared jail after damaging dozens of parked cars in a pair of vandalistic rampages.
Kevin Myers, from Warrington in Cheshire, had scratched the vehicles with pieces of glass on two occasions – February 12 and 18 this year.
As he left Warrington Magistrates’ Court, Myers gloated to staff, saying: “Merry Christmas. I won’t be seeing you again.”
The damaged cars included high-end models such as a Jaguar XF, an Audi Q5, a 2023 MG4 Trophy, and a brand new Renault Clio Esprit. The total cost of the damage remains unknown.
Myers issued the festive gloat as he left Warrington Magistrates’ Court
PA
The spate of vehicle attacks followed an earlier confrontation with a shopkeeper.
Just three weeks prior, Myers had a heated argument with Waqar Qayyaum, a store owner who asked him to leave for shouting and scaring customers. Myers subsequently damaged a door handle on Qayyaum’s BMW parked outside.
In March, Myers was jailed for three weeks for damaging three of the cars: two Nissan Qashqais and a VW Polo. This week, he appeared before magistrates for the remaining 20 vehicles.
Prosecutor Robert Earl said: “He was basically going around and damaging those vehicles by scraping them with some sort of instrument, again for no reason we can ascertain, apart from wanting to cause damage.”
MORE FROM THE NORTH WEST:
Myers damaged dozens of parked cars in the sprees (file photo)
PA
Myers was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for six months, and ordered to pay £154 compensation to Qayyaum after pleading guilty to criminal damage.
Earl said: “He has offended so often, offended against so many different people – 20 victims – who have had their cars damaged, putting the victims through the inconvenience of fixing them, and he just carries on offending.”
Myers had previous convictions from 2017 for breaching an exclusion order and possession of a bladed article.
The prosecutor described Myers’ actions as a “rampage”, adding: “It is incomprehensible to me… but it is not my job to comprehend.”
Myers’ solicitor, Mark Lever, explained that his client had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but was now “effectively medicated” with no further issues.
Lever added: “He is generally very anxious and very nervous and there was a small period where things went completely wrong for him.”
Magistrate Andrew Brothers admonished Myers, saying: “This is not an acceptable way to go about your ways, is it?”