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news
Justice (Lonpicman, Wikimedia Commons)Cambridgeshire driver found guilty of racially abusing cyclist but escapes assault charge
A Cambridgeshire man has been found guilty of causing racially or religiously aggravated fear or provocation of violence following a road rage incident involving four American cyclists, two of them serving soldiers in the US Army. Despite admitting punching his victim repeatedly, Robert Steele, aged 47, was found not guilty of assault and possession of an offensive weapon.
The incident took place on 6 March on the B1040 at Papworth Everard when self-employed bricklayer Steele took issue with the quartet – Paul Shiefer, Brianna Huot, Refugio Lopez and Lance Harris – who all take part in triathlons, after they reportedly pulled out of the road in front of him, reports Cambridge News.
One member of the group, Mr Lopez, attracted particular attention from Steele because, as the driver himself admitted, “I thought Mr Lopez looked foreign and he is foreign. The others looked as English as I am, so I only said it to him.”
Although the accused denied the charges against him, according to a report of the court proceedings on Cambridge News, in his own testimony he not only admitted hitting Mr Lopez, but also punching him repeatedly.
Penny Cannon, speaking for the prosecution, told Steele: “Mr Lopez was a small chap with only cycling gear on. He could see you were angry and would have felt terrified. If you were in his position you would have been scared too.”
Steele claimed that Mr Lopez was headbutting him with his cycle helmet and admitted: “I gave him three upper cuts to his face while his head was down. I gave him a couple of whacks and he fell to the ground.”
He then retrieved some plastic piping from his van and waved it at the cyclists, shouting racial abuse at Mr Lopez and saying “I’m going to kill you.”
In Steele’s defence, Guy Holland said that the accused was suffering pressure due to one of his children suffering from cerebral palsy. He added: “Mr Steele is of good character and has never shown violence in the last 47 years.”
Steele was fined £300 and told to pay court costs of £215 as well as a £15 victim surcharge.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- brooksby 3 sec ago
Don't worry, I'm sure another company will be along in a minute to beat it
- muhasib 4 min ago
What an odd article, just an advert for the law firm: is this the same 'Martin' who then campaigned for cyclists to wear helmets?
- PeteZahad 20 min 11 sec ago
I understand that it's difficult to fully appreciate the quality of a product from online images. If you'd like a more thorough evaluation, I'd be...
- chrisonabike 13 min 30 sec ago
"Why can't they just drive like everyone else?" (and contribute to the dreadful congestion I keep banging on about. Of course in the UK this would...
- OldRidgeback 55 min 34 sec ago
I agree - I bet the guard doesn't get paid hugely so a gesture to show appreciation would probably go a long way....
- leedorney 57 min 14 sec ago
I can't see what the big deal is, it's a well burnt bike - ashes of, and ?
- momove 1 hour 56 sec ago
Disappointing to hear that....
- cyclisto 2 hours 16 min ago
I would dream of my non-assisted bicycle to have such low weight. It is a bicycle to drool over but this Urtopia bicycle must utopic price.
- David9694 3 hours 31 min ago
This must be one of the many "I insist on using cash in the parking meter" articles, usually based on the person being old and infirm and unable to...
- Slartibartfast 4 hours 3 min ago
Might have to expand on this one a bit fella as it's hard to unpick exactly what your point is.
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14 comments
It gets better. Is it me or has the world gone mad
Sounds like a nice bloke. Using his kid's illness as an excuse is a particularly nice touch...
Terrible decision by the court. How his claim of self defence stod up when he had exited the vehicle to confront the group I don't know.
As two of the cyclists were US Army, I hope their mates back at base don't take the law into their own hands.
How on earth can you state in court that you have punched someone multiple times, knocking them to the floor, and NOT have committed assault?! If I was looking for a definition of assault, I'd start with something like this.
I can't believe that four of them, two of them serving soldiers, couldn't take care of him on their own !
Just because they are soldiers does not mean they can take out a bloke hell bent on violence with their bare hands !
Perhaps you should think before making such quotes ?
Yes, it is very tempting to wonder that but, as usual, the press won't be telling the whole story so any speculation as to what actually happened remains mere conjecture.
It may well be that it was precisely because two WERE soldiers that they didn't push home a four on one advantage.
Get in a fight with civilians and irrespective of whether or nor you were in the right, you're possibly looking at charges being brought under army disciplinary procedures and at the very minimum you'll have the regimental sergeant major (or US equivalent) put you through a good few laps of the drill square, probably while carrying your bike above your head.
Once saw a couple of Black Watch get back to barracks in Edinburgh very early in the morning, they'd obviously been in a fight. Four hours later, they were still running round the barracks carrying big heavy brass shell casings.
With him sitting on the bike i would imagine.
It's quite laughable isn't it? Read the piece again and omit they were on bicycles. I wonder what the charges would have been based on an assault which was racially motivated against serving servicemen. I can see The Daily Mail headline now
For those of you that can't be bothered to scrape that particular barrel, here are some highlights:
Check out some of the enlightened views below the story on the Cambridge News site.
Obviously
In my experience, there are plenty of drivers for whom "pulling out in front of them" means exiting a side-road when they are within visual range, even if that is half a mile away, or more.
As for the outcome of the legal proceedings: unbelievable, as usual.
Now, if it had been Murdoch on the bike???