An officer’s determination to seek justice for a hit-and-run collision in Leicester has resulted in a driver being jailed.
On 1 July 2019, Radu Covaci stole alcohol from a supermarket in Upperton Road and fled in a silver Toyota Yaris. Members of staff rushed into the car park to try and stop him leaving, but he ran over one of them in order to make good his escape. The victim, who is now in his 40s, suffered serious head injuries with long-lasting effects.
Early enquiries established that the Toyota was using cloned plates, but when enquiries into the vehicle were conducted, it was established he had previously stolen items from another supermarket wearing the same clothes and travelling in the same car.
When police visited 33-year-old Covaci’s address, they were told he had gone back to his native Romania.
Sergeant Sian Harris-Ley, the investigating officer, successfully applied for a Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TaCa) warrant – an extradition agreement between the UK and EU countries. This was only possible due to the strength of evidence against him and an agreement with the Crown Prosecution Service to authorise charges against him in his absence.
On 20 October last year, she was notified that Covaci had been arrested by Romanian police when trying to cross the border.
“When I got that call to say he’d been arrested, I couldn’t believe it,” said Sergeant Harris-Ley.
“He was brought back to the UK and then transferred to Leicestershire to be dealt with. Thanks to the great work we’d been able to do between us in identifying him – linking him to other incidents – we were able to charge him and remand him to prison. It was a huge relief to have a conclusion to this serious incident.”
Covici of Somerville Road, Rowley Fields, was subsequently charged with one count of causing grievous bodily harm, one count of driving while disqualified and one count of driving without insurance. He pled guilty on 19 March this year when he appeared at Leicester Crown Court.
Today (Thursday 6 June), at the same court, he was sentenced to a total of 32 months’ imprisonment and was disqualified from driving for three years.
Sergeant Harris-Ley added: “There’s no doubt in my mind that Covaci thought he was going to avoid this outcome and would not have to face the consequences of his actions. I hope today’s outcome provides the public with some confidence that we’ll do whatever it takes to bring offenders to justice.”
