'Selfish and reckless' driver, 19, drove at 100mph through Northampton before 'garden-hopping' to escape police JAILED of 12 months

At 11.20pm on Wednesday, January 22, a grey Ford Focus car joined the westbound carriageway of the A45 at the Billing Interchange, Northampton, and immediately accelerated off at speed.

Unfortunately for the driver – Arjel Gjana of Adelaide Road in Ipswich, Suffolk – the car behind him was an unmarked Northamptonshire Police Armed Response Vehicle, which followed him as his car reached speeds of 100mph.

Gjana exited at the Queen Eleanor interchange and as he slowed for traffic lights, the officers pulled in front of the Ford Focus and illuminated the police vehicle’s on-board matrix board requesting him to slow down.

Instead of following their instructions, Gjana drove off, undertaking the stationary traffic as he weaved dangerously between the three lanes. He briefly re-joined the A45, before exiting at Wootton, driving through a red traffic light at up to 80mph.

In his bid to evade the pursuing officers, Gjana continued to drive at excessive speed along residential streets before turning into Romulus Close, where he decamped at the end of the cul-de-sac, running off while the vehicle rolled into a parked van causing damage.

Despite garden hopping, Gjana ran out of fences and entered a green area between Centurion Way and Romulus Close, where he was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and failing to stop when directed.

Gjana, who had £1,200 in cash on him, was also arrested on suspicion of possession of criminal property, and possession of a controlled Class A drug after a small bag of cocaine was found in his car.

Once in custody, personal checks confirmed that he did not hold a driving licence or insurance, and he was further arrested for these offences. He was charged with all six offences.

At Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Friday, January 24, the charge of failing to stop when directed was withdrawn, but Gjana pleaded guilty to the other five offences and his case was committed to the county’s crown court for sentencing.

On Friday, March 7, at Northampton Crown Court Gjana was sentenced to 12 months in prison for dangerous driving and disqualified from driving for a year. He will need to sit an extended test before being allowed behind the wheel.

He received no separate penalty for the other two driving offences, however, was ordered to pay a £187 surcharge, with a forfeiture and destruction order made for the Class A drugs.

The presiding judge also made a forfeiture application under Section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, for the seized money to be redirected to the Northamptonshire Community Fund, which provides financial support to charities.

West LPA Response officer PC Jenson Osborne, who led the investigation, said: “Arjel Gjana knew he was not entitled to drive, but both selfishly and recklessly put the lives of innocent road users at risk in a bid to save himself and evade arrest.

“Reducing the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on the county’s roads continues to be a priority for our team, and so I am pleased that the courts have helped to remove another irresponsible and illegal driver from our roads.”

Tragically in 2024, 31 people never returned home safely to their loved ones following a collision in Northamptonshire and 243 required urgent medical assistance for serious or life-changing injuries.