A West Cumbrian man who struggled with police and was found with cannabis just hours after being released from prison has found himself in court again.
Scott Foster, now 32, was given a suspended prison sentence in July 2020, for leading an officer on a high speed road pursuit while over the drink-drive limit.
Foster was back at Carlisle Crown Court last October to be sentenced for for dangerous driving and an assault, but was spared prison and made subject to a community order by a judge who heard of his struggles in the aftermath of a brain injury.
As he left the dock, Foster told a judge: “You will never see me in this court again.”
But he did return, and on March 11 was sentenced for possession of an air weapon and pellets which was illegal because of the previously imposed suspended jail term.
Foster, of Mountain View, Harrington, was handed a short prison sentence for the ammunition offences, and because of time served on remand walked free from custody that day.
But at around 6.30pm on March 11, police were called firstly to his mother’s home amid reports he was verbally abusing her, and then learned he was causing trouble at another address.
When officers caught up with him, he was found in possession of a golf ball-sized piece of cannabis. His behaviour was erratic, police believing he was under the influence of some substance. And as they tried to lead him away, he made it difficult for them, first writhing around and then suddenly going limp.
He was eventually subdued with the use of an incapacitant spray, and in court admitted cannabis possession, resisting a PC and breaching the suspended sentence.
Kim Whittlestone, defending, spoke of Foster’s ongoing battles with mental health issues as a result of a brain injury he had suffered. “To make progress with this defendant, he needs to be under the supervision of the probation service,” said Miss Whittlestone.
After considering a detailed doctor’s report, Recorder Julian Shaw fined Foster £200 for the two latest offences, and added a further £100 for breaching the suspended sentence, which expires in July.
Reiterating that this punishment had a matter of weeks to run, the judge told Foster: “I cannot urge or stress upon you the importance of staying out of trouble.”
