21 October 2010
13:5875885#1
CHARGES were dropped against a man accused of driving with no licence or insurance after the prosecution belatedly realised it had been on a private road.
Police stopped a man driving a Y-reg Rover in The Avenue, Westerham, on July 26. The driver refused to give his name but fingerprints later identified him as 32-year-old Alan Sanchez from Teesdale in Crawley.
A hearing was set for Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court, where James Nichols, for the Crown Prosecution Service, told the bench: "Unfortunately this was a private road and no offence was committed. I ask for the case to be withdrawn."
Chairman of the bench Abigail Brennan accepted his request.
The admission came only after a man, refusing to answer to the name Alan Sanchez, questioned the authority of the court.
Refusing to take off his trilby-style hat on "religious grounds", the man insisted the court address him as "Adam of the Family Sanchez as Commonly Known" and denied having an address or date of birth, adding: "This is all hearsay."
The court, unable to put charges to a man who did not acknowledge he was the accused, instructed Adam of the Family Sanchez as Commonly Known to leave.
Legal advice was then sought as to whether to issue a warrant for Alan Sanchez's arrest or to set a trial date in his absence. But while those discussions were taking place, the prosecution read the patrol officer's statement more carefully and found the police error.