A COVENTRY man who spent ten years in prison for his part in a series of ruthless armed robberies is back behind bars after he was caught driving a stolen car.
And although Kevin Mullen was jailed for nine months, it will be up to the Parole Board to decide whether he is then freed after serving that sentence.
The 34-year-old of Deedmore Road, Wood End, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to receiving a stolen VW Tiguan, driving while disqualified and having a bladed article, a machete.
And at the time of the offences in January, he was on licence from an indeterminate sentence, which he has since been recalled to prison to continue serving.
Prosecutor Ian Windridge said police became suspicious of a VW Tiguan they saw in Binton Road around 8.20am on January 14.
The Tiguan, which had been stolen in a burglary four weeks earlier and was on false number plates, failed to stop until it reached Lapworth Road, where Mullen then got out and ran off.
He was chased through nearby gardens before being found and arrested hiding in the loft of a nearby house.
The Tiguan was searched and in the door pocket officers found a machete.
Mr Windridge pointed out Mullen was on licence from and indeterminate sentence imposed at Coventry Crown Court in 2007 for conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to commit burglaries, of which he had been ordered to serve a minimum of ten years.
Seamran Sidhu, defending, said Mullen had been released from his long sentence in October 2016, since when he had obtained full-time work, making use of the qualifications he had gained in prison, and was doing well.
She said Mullen had originally got into the vehicle as a passenger, but his friend, who was the driver, was intoxicated, so he had offered to drive his friend home.
He then saw the police car behind him, and got out and ran off, said Miss Sidhu, who added the machete had already been in the car when he got in, and he had had no intention of using it.
As a result of the offence, Mullen has been recalled to prison to continue serving his indeterminate sentence – and it would be up to the Parole Board to decide when he is released.
