A man has been jailed after he hijacked a car at the side of the road before taking the driver and his niece on a high-speed police chase.
Craig Edgar appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted abducting the pair by getting into the driver’s seat of their vehicle when they had stopped the car to check on a potential puncture.
The 37-year-old, who appeared with another man, demanded a lift across Aberdeen before insisting he drive the car.
The driver and his niece were left helpless in the back seat as the police pursued Edgar through the streets at speed.
His solicitor told the court that Edgar made a “number of bad decisions” that night.
Edgar became ‘irate’ when he was denied lift
Fiscal depute Lucy Simpson told the court that on March 3 last year a man took his niece out shopping in Aberdeen.
As they made their way home at around 11pm, a warning light came on indicating that the car had a possible puncture.
Pulling over on Greenfern Road, the man got out to inspect the tyres leaving the keys in the ignition.
He found no fault with the car but was approached by Edgar and another man, who asked if he would give them a lift.
The driver repeatedly refused to do so but Edgar became “irate and disgruntled” and insisted he take them to Kincorth.
“He was scared that the accused was going to assault him so he agreed to give them a lift,” Ms Simpson said.
“He attempted to reenter the driver’s seat, but he was stopped by the accused who told him that he was going to drive and that he and his niece both had to sit in the back, to which they complied.
“The accused then drove off in the direction of the Lang Stracht.”
At around 11.15pm, police officers in a marked car saw Edgar driving southbound on South Anderson Drive.
Edgar saw the police car and panicked and “accelerated harshly,” Ms Simpson said.
After losing sight of the police vehicle, Edgar returned to the speed limit but was soon spotted by the police again.
As they were followed by a marked police car, Edgar and the other man discussed speeding up in order to lose them before accelerating up Holburn Street and turning left onto Ruthrieston Crescent.
Edgar drove at high speed and continued to make attempts to evade the police.
As police activated their blue lights, Edgar pulled the car into a dead end before mounting a grass verge and rejoining the carriageway at South Anderson Drive.
He accelerated heavily and drove north and the car was quickly lost from sight.
Edgar eventually stopped on Broomhill Road and he and the other man ran from the vehicle.
In the dock, Edgar pleaded guilty to one charge of abduction and a second charge of dangerous driving.
He also admitted a charge of failing to stop when requested to do so by police and driving without insurance.
Accused ‘began taking drugs’
Defence solicitor Michael Horsman told the court that his client had a “lengthy list of previous convictions”.
But he added that Edgar had a 10-year gap in offending between 2012 and 2022.
“This was when he was in a relationship, in employment and became a father.” Mr Horsman said.
“Mr Edgar then began taking drugs and lost his job and began associating with people he shouldn’t have. He has made a number a number of very bad decisions.”
Sheriff Ian Duguid told Edgar that a number of the charges he was facing “probably warrant a custodial sentence on their own”.
He jailed Edgar, whose address was given as HMP Grampian, for 17 months.
The sheriff also banned him from driving for 15 months.
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