Fare dodger's mobile phone trick backfired

Jordan Luke Marshall, 27, of Woodhouse Place, Tuxford, admitted making a false representation on August 28 last year at Mansfield Magistrates Court.

Ruth Snodin, prosecuting, said: “He left a mobile phone in the taxi as surety for the fare and went inside his house.

“When the driver asked after him at the house, a woman told him no one had come inside.”

The police were called and the woman gave the same answer to them, but Marshall was found upstairs in bed and was arrested.

When interviewed Marshall made no comment, but the phone was later discovered to belong to his ex-partner and contained a birthday message to him.

The court heard he had one previous conviction for a public order offence in 2012.

Sukhdip Randhara, mitigating, said three and a half weeks before the incident, Marshall had been the victim of an assault which left him with a broken ankle and caused him to lose his job. On the night in question he had been out with friends in Nottingham but decided to go home early on his own.

Mr Randhara said: “When he got home he was left in the predicament of not having the fare.

“He buried his head in the sand and told his ex-partner to tell the driver he wasn’t at home.

“He was taken to the police station and that lie just snowballed.”

Magistrates gave him a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £85 costs and £15 victim surcharge. He was also ordered to pay the taxi driver the £65.20 fare and £40 for loss of earnings.