Drunken taxi passenger attacked cabbie after being asked to clear up own vomit then jumped into canal in bid to escape police dog
A drunken taxi passenger who assaulted a cabbie and smashed up his car with a hammer after being asked to clean up his own vomit, before attacking a police dog and jumping into a canal to escape it, has been locked up for more than two years.
After consuming around seven pints of cider, Charlie Jones vomited in the back of a taxi in Walsall. When the driver pulled over and insisted Jones wipe down the rear seats, he flew into a rage and lunged at the 34-year-old man, swinging punches, before climbing onto the car's bonnet and jumping up and down, and then smashing the Vauxhall Vectra's windows and wing mirrors with a hammer. The damage caused to the vehicle costed hundreds of pounds.
Following his outburst, Jones fled the scene in Bloxwich Road, Short Heath, but West Midlands Police dog Ivan and handler Jon Wood tracked him to a nearby canal towpath.
In a desperate bid to avoid capture, scrap metal dealer Jones leapt into the canal and later threatened PC Wood and Ivan having clambered back out of the icy water.
The 19-year-old from Goscote Place in Coalpool, Walsall, lashed out at Ivan, punching him in the head and ribs, but was quickly downed by the five-year-old German shepherd and arrested by officers.
Following the events of Sunday, October 18, Jones was charged with criminal damage, racially-aggravated assault and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
After admitting the offences at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday Jones was sent to a youth offender's institution for 18 months for the assault, plus an additional nine months for lashing out at Ivan.
PC Wood recalled: "He threatened both Ivan and myself and shouted something like 'I'm not scared of the dog' - but that didn't appear to be the case when Ivan was released to detain him. He even jumped into the canal in a bid to escape but was quickly back on dry land and in the back of a police van.
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"Jones punched Ivan several times to the head and ribs but thankfully he didn't sustain any lasting injuries…it's fair to say he came off worse and needed a few stitches in his thigh for a bite injury as Ivan defended himself."
Investigating officer Detective Constable Sam Kirk, from Force CID, said Jones flew into a rage at being asked to clean up his mess ? and caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage to the car.
She added: "He'd been out drinking and had consumed about seven pints of cider before being ill in the cab. The taxi driver was understandably unhappy but when he asked him to clean it up he was met with a flurry of punches.
"At one stage he climbed onto the bonnet, jumped up and down several times, and struck the windscreen up to 10 times before it shattered.
"It was a complete loss of control; being drunk is not an excuse to behave in this way and anyone who commits violent offences has to understand they could face a prison term."
