Driver jailed after 100mph police chase through Black Country
A convicted drug dealer who drove at speeds of up to 100mph along major Black Country roads whilst being pursued by armed police has been jailed.
Reuben Bell drove for more than seven miles, colliding with other vehicles, ramming a police car, ignoring red lights and going the wrong way around a traffic island before he was cornered by officers who shot at his tyres.
Police found £5,200 in cash and a bullet inside his car and heroin at his home, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
The supermarket delivery driver was in his Ford Focus on the Black Country Route in Bilston when he was followed by armed police in three unmarked cars.
One of the Volvo police cars drew up alongside him and tried to get in front but Bell rammed the car, damaging it so badly it was unable to continue the pursuit, said Mr Matthew Brook, prosecuting.
Bell, 36, then went the wrong way around a a traffic island and sped off chased by the remaining two police cars with their lights and sirens activated. He failed to slow down at the junction with Oxford Street, Bilston, and turned on to the Black Country Route, undertaking cars, said Mr Books.
He then went through several red lights on the Birmingham New Road, pushing his way through queues of stationary cars, scraping the paintwork, in a bid to shake off the police.
But at the junction of Trafalgar Road, Tividale, armed officers jumped out of their vehicle and shot at the Ford's tyres, bringing the pursuit to an abrupt end.
Police searched Bell's home, which was then in Malvern Drive, East Park, and found three wraps of heroin which he claimed to be taking to cope with the recent death of his stillborn child.
In police interview, he claimed not to have known he was being followed by police and had sped off for fear of being shot. He alleged the cash found in the Focus had been from the sale of a car. At the police station he attempted to escape by ducking under a desk but was caught, said Mr Brook.
Bell had nine previous conviction for 23 offences including dangerous driving. In both 2004 and 2009 he was jailed for five years for offences related to supplying heroin.
Mr Lee Marklew, defending, said Bell had believed he was under attack in the car pursuit and panicked, fearing his life was in danger. He added the father-of-two had worked as a delivery driver for Asda for five years since coming out of prison.
Bell, of Cottesmore Close, West Bromwich, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, money laundering, possession of a Class A drug, ammunition and criminal property and attempting to escape from custody.
Jailing him for 16 months and imposing a three-year driving ban on his release, Judge Nicholas Webb said: "You cannot drive in that way and not expect to get a custodial sentence."
