A prolific offender who struck three pedestrians with a car after driving dangerously through Colchester has been jailed after armed police eventually found him cowering underneath a bed. Joseph Wicks, 27, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison following a string of offences including dangerous driving, stalking, assaults and threatening communications. The most serious driving incident happened in the early hours of November 30, when Wicks was behind the wheel of a Fiat 500 in Colchester city centre. He drove aggressively through the streets, travelling the wrong way along one-way roads, ignoring red traffic lights and narrowly missing members of the public as he sped through narrow streets. When he reached Queen Street, Wicks mounted the pavement where a group of people were gathered outside a nightclub.
Three pedestrians struck
The Fiat hit three people before Wicks drove away from the scene. Fortunately, none of those struck suffered serious injuries. Wicks abandoned the vehicle at Wivenhoe Quay, but investigators recovered his fingerprints from inside the car and identified him as the driver. Police continued trying to trace him, but Wicks went on to commit further offences while officers searched for him. These included a campaign of stalking and harassment against a woman which culminated in an incident on May 8. Wicks went to the woman’s address, where he was reported to have shouted, sworn and behaved aggressively while banging on the front door and demanding to be allowed inside. He then returned to his van. When another man approached the vehicle and opened its passenger door to challenge Wicks about his behaviour, he reported seeing a metal baseball bat and what appeared to be a handgun. Wicks subsequently left the area but continued bombarding the woman with telephone calls and messages.
Armed officers deployed
Because of the report of a possible firearm, specially trained armed officers began searching addresses connected to Wicks. Police located his van on May 9 and recovered the baseball bat, although no firearm was found. Two days later, armed officers executed a warrant at an address in Colchester. Several people inside claimed they had not seen Wicks. Officers were not convinced and conducted a thorough search of the property. They eventually discovered the wanted 27-year-old hiding underneath an Ottoman bed. He was arrested and subsequently charged with a series of offences including dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, failing to stop for police, three counts of assault by beating, three counts of attempting to cause actual bodily harm, stalking, sending threatening communications and criminal damage. Wicks was also charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He denied that allegation and prosecutors allowed the charge to lie on file. He admitted the remaining offences.
Jailed for four-and-a-half years
Wicks, of Braithwaite Drive, Colchester, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday, July 31, where he was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. He was also disqualified from driving for two years and six months. The sentence concludes an investigation which saw officers link Wicks to the dangerous driving through forensic evidence before armed police eventually tracked him down following his subsequent offending.
