Leicester man jailed for vehicle and knife offences

A Leicester man who crashed a stolen van into parked cars before openly carrying knives in public has been jailed.

Max Benrose, 29, took the van from outside a house in Heather Road, Leicester. He drove it away, crashing into several vehicles before abandoning it in nearby Scott Street.

Shortly afterwards, he was seen inside a shop bragging about the incident to a shopkeeper. In his hands were two knives.

After being seen inside the shop he made off on foot, towards Welford Road.

Benrose, of Heather Road, appeared at Leicester Crown Court today (Wednesday 29 May) where he was sentenced to a total of eight months imprisonment after pleading guilty, at an earlier hearing, to one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place, one count of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent and using a motor vehicle without insurance.

The incident happened at around 10.40pm on 11 March.

Benrose was arrested, less than two hours later, in Knighton Fields Road East by officers who were in the area having been alerted to the theft of the van by the vehicle’s owner.

PC Daphne Fromes was the investigating officer, she said: “It was fortunate that nobody was injured by Benrose’s actions – had anyone been sitting in the parked cars, or had they been moving, then the events of that night could potentially have been much worse.

“Carrying a knife in a public place is a criminal offence and, although he didn’t threaten anyone, he broke the law and now he must face the consequences of making that decision.”