Driver jailed for lying to police over 'stolen' BMW pub crash

A MAN who crashed his car through the front wall of a Ringwood pub and then lied to police by claiming it had been stolen beforehand has been jailed for 15 months.

Ashley Smedburg tried to fool officers by filing a complaint about the theft of his BMW and signing a statement, Southampton Crown Court heard.

However, the truth caught up with him when a forensic examination of his car unearthed his DNA on the driver’s airbag, which had deployed during the smash.

Prosecutor Siobhan Linsley said residents living near the Elm Tree pub phoned police after hearing a “crashing” sound at 3am on 22nd February 2018.

One even claimed they saw a man and a woman climb out of the car while holding beer bottles before fleeing the scene, she added.

The BMW had overshot the junction at Hightown Road and Crow Lane, Mrs Linsley explained, ploughing through the front wall of the Elm Tree. It caused £4,000 worth of damage, and 20ft of the wall had to be demolished, the court was told.

After reaching the scene police traced the vehicle to Smedburg (31), but when they phoned him he claimed to be enjoying a night out in a Southampton nightclub.

He seemed “unconcerned” something had happened to his vehicle and told officers he would get back to them soon before hanging up the phone, the prosecutor said.

Reporting to police later that afternoon, he told officers he parked and left the vehicle in Burley and said it must have been stolen. Smedberg, who lives in New Street, Ringwood, subsequently signed a statement saying as such.

He was warned by officers and a solicitor prior to giving the statement that he needed to be “truthful” in what he said and risked prosecution if he lied, Mrs Linsley stressed.

But the claim begun to unravel when the officer in the case requested Smedburg give a DNA sample to rule him out of their investigation.

He refused, Mrs Linsley said, telling the officer to “do his job” and claiming he knew who had stolen his car, and that person had reimbursed him. Smedburg refused to say who that was and never named anyone else in relation to the incident.

The results of forensic tests of the vehicle revealed DNA on the airbag – which matched Smedburg’s – and there were no signs of entry being forced into the car.

Having been arrested, Smedburg refused to answer questions. When the case went to court he pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.

Mrs Linsley revealed Smedburg had an extensive criminal history, having served spells in a young offenders institution and adult prison, and his previous offences included two counts of robbery, intimidating a witness and cultivation of cannabis.

There were also two separate offences of driving with excess alcohol, the latter in September last year when he was disqualified for three years.

Defence counsel Jamie Gammon suggested the father-of-four, who was accompanied to court by his partner, should be spared an immediate spell in prison.

A “cocktail” of attachments could be added to a suspended sentence, including probation sessions to improve his client’s thinking and a strenuous curfew, he argued.

Accepting Smedburg had not “covered himself in glory”, Mr Gammon said the defendant had suffered mental health issues. At the time he had not been medicating himself properly to deal with the issues but was doing so now, Mr Gammon added.

He also highlighted it was two years since the incident happened and it had been hanging over the defendant, a delay Mr Gammon said was “not a great credit to the system”.

However, Judge Nicholas Rowland sent Smedburg to prison for 15 months, calling the incident “serious”.

Noting Mr Gammon’s comment over delays, he said that was “slightly ironic” given Smedburg’s lies had “diverted valuable and precious resources” away from other cases and meant his took longer for police to investigate than it would have otherwise.