Ex-Cobblers star McKenzie claims speeding ticket con was caused by depression
Leon McKenzie
EX-Cobblers striker Leon McKenzie said depression led to him avoiding six speeding convictions by arranging for bogus letters to be sent to the DVLA.
McKenzie, aged 33, who retired from football in December, was jailed for six months yesterday after six notices of intended prosecution were responded to with letters from a fictitious garage in London stating his car had been off the road.
Claire Howell, prosecuting at Northampton Crown Court, said: “The essence of the prosecution case is between October 2008 and December 2009, on five occasions for the defendant and on one occasion his wife, committed speeding offences in a car registered in their names.
“The defendant caused certain information to be provided to the DVLA which avoided him and his wife from receiving any speeding convictions.”
The court heard how on each occasion a notice of intended prosecution was sent, letters were sent back from Pewbar Motors in London, including invoices for work on their car, stating it was in the garage and off the road each time.
Five speeding convictions, with three penalty points imposed each time, would have resulted in a driving ban for the ex-Premiership player.
However the garage never existed and investigations later revealed the address given was an empty building.
Miss Howell said McKenzie was caught out when “keen observation by staff at the DVLA noticed the letters’ type face was a bit odd”.
When arrested in August 2010, McKenzie made a full confession but only after he agreed to be cautioned. A mix-up between the detective and custody sergeant meant a caution was mistakenly issued without mandatory consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.
Miss Howell added: “He told the police that someone had told him they could sort out the penalty points and this person had filled in the forms and sent them to the DVLA. The defendant said he did not appreciate how serious it was because he had got away with it and thought it was not important.”
Once Northamptonshire Police withdrew the caution, McKenzie pleaded guilty to six offences of perverting the course of justice.
Sentencing the father-of-four and banning him from driving for 18 months, Judge Richard Bray said: “This was repeated fraud committed over a period of time and in quite a sophisticated manner. You were prepared to pretend on each occasion that your car was at a garage that did not even exist.
“I bear in mind your previous good character, your background and the fact you have been suffering from depression but that cannot excuse these offences. A custodial sentence is necessary for this type of offence which strikes right at the heart of justice.
“It would send completely the wrong message to others if I did not impose such a sentence.”
Sean Hammond, defending, said McKenzie, who started his career with Crystal Palace and played for Northampton, Kettering and Norwich, had been suffering from depression, resulting in an attempt on his life at the end of 2009.
Acting as a character witness, his uncle, Duke McKenzie, a former world championship boxer, said he too had suffered from depression, adding: “People think we professional sportsmen live these glamorous lifestyles but we’re under the same pressures. It mounts up if things are not going your way.”
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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