A man who launched an unprovoked attack on a work colleague before driving at high speed to get away from police has narrowly avoided prison.
Judge Sophie McKone explained at Bradford Crown Court on Thursday, January 2 that a “significant delay” in the case reaching the courts was one of the reasons why she was not jailing Adrian Horvarth.
In February 2023, Horvarth had been working at a distribution centre in Bradford when he assaulted his team leader. The judge was shown CCTV footage of the incident which involved Horvarth punching the complainant to the floor before kicking out at him.
Prosecutor Jessica Lister said other staff intervened and Horvarth left, but he was later spotted by a police patrol driving an Audi car at excessive speed along Halifax Road Miss Lister said the officers activated their blue lights and sirens, but Horvarth accelerated away and reached speeds of up to 90mph.
He drove around the Shelf roundabout the wrong way, ignored “keep left” bollards and ran red lights during the pursuit which lasted about eight minutes until the police vehicle malfunctioned.
Miss Lister said the Audi was driven through a narrow gap between two cars at a red light in the centre of Halifax and the car also mounted a pavement in Hanson Lane to avoid an oncoming vehicle.
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A short time after the police officers had aborted the pursuit, Horvarth drove to Halifax police station and effectively handed himself in.
Horvarth, 28, of Worsted Close, Pellon, Halifax, was arrested that night for offences of assault and dangerous driving, but the court heard that his case was not brought before the magistrates court until last month. Horvarth, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to both matters at the first opportunity before the magistrates and the court heard that he had expressed genuine and deep-felt remorse.
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Judge McKone told the court the assault on Horvarth’s work colleague had been unprovoked and that kicking someone to the head was extremely dangerous. The judge noted that Horvarth had been “struggling with grief” at the time, but she said that was perhaps an explanation not an excuse.
She said it was also incredible that no one, including Horvarth, had been injured or killed during the lengthy police pursuit. She said the assault had had a significant impact on the co-worker whose psychological recovery had been slow.
Judge McKone added: “It has been now nearly two years since these offences and it’s not been explained why it has taken so long.”
She imposed a total prison sentence for 16 months for the two offences, but she decided there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in his case and suspended the jail term for 18 months.
Horvarth, who was banned from driving for 18 months, was ordered to do 280 hours of unpaid work for the community and he must comply with a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement. He was also told he could not lawfully drive on the roads again until he had passed an extended driving test.
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