Prison result of "reckless" moment at late night takeout

Friday 16 November 2018

A 22-year-old lashed out and smashed a £6,500 coffee machine in a "petulant" rage, when Santana's Takeaway staff refused to serve him food for free.

Scott Simpson was in Santana's on the 27 July at 02:30 when he started to demand food free-of-charge from the staff. When he was told he couldn't have any, his anger spiralled out of control, before he barged behind the counter and pushed the coffee machine onto the floor.

Now, following some months on the run from Police, Simpson has been sent to prison for three months, fined £700 and also ordered to pay £2,000 of compensation to the takeaway owner. 

Overall, Simpson was sentenced for six different offences - damaging property, dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving without a license, driving without supervision and escaping custody.

Pictured: Simpson was sentenced for six different offences. 

After smashing the coffee machine on the floor, Simpson fled, while the owner of Santana's called the police. When officers later arrived and were talking to the owner, he spotted Simpson driving slowly past them - despite not having a licence or insurance.

Simpson then swerved onto the pavement to go around the police vehicle, drove onto the front, to the Weighbridge roundabout, before ditching the car at the bottom of St Julians Avenue. During this drive, he was witnessed cutting across a yellow line and driving in a generally dangerous manner.

When police got to the vehicle, they could not find Simpson despite a search. When they went looking for him the following day, it was found he had already left the island on a flight that afternoon.

Two months later, on 21 October, the defendant was finally arrested on Collings Road, although even then, as police took control of him, he broke free and ran down the road. The officers caught up and detained him and Simpson has been held in custody since then.

At just 22, Simpson already has a "disastrous" criminal record, the court heard, and he also has two outstanding warrants for arrest in Lancashire. 

While his defence advocate said on the night, he hadn't been thinking, and had acted petulantly and recklessly, Judge Cherry McMillan urged the defendant to use this sentencing as a starting point from which to turn his life around.

"At that point when you had pushed the coffee machine, you had a choice of fight or flight, and you went - you didn't accept the consequences. Then later, you drove in a very dangerous way, and you ran away from that. Then, even though you were not on bail, you left the island. And then even later, when you were arrested, you still tried to run away. It is clear to say, Mr Simpson, that is seems nothing changes" she said.

"But reading the probation report, there is a glimmer, a glimmer that you might be willing to stop making immature decisions."

While Judge McMillan gave Simpson some hopeful words to think on, she did feel a custodial sentence was the only appropriate course of action. He received a £200 fine for dangerous driving, a £200 fine for driving without a licence, a £300 fine for driving without insurance, two months behind bars for the criminal damage and an extra month for escaping custody.

Additionally, he will have to pay £2,000 compensation to the owner of the Santana's to go toward the coffee machine - the maximum amount the Magistrate's Court can order. But Judge McMillan added she wanted the owner of Santana's to be notified he could sue Simpson for the remaining £4,500 to cover the machine costs, and also urged Simpson to pay it himself.