The latest cases to be heard at Harrogate Magistrates Court between February 26 and March 3

The following were heard at North Yorkshire Magistrates’ Court on February 28:

Cider thief Joe David McKenna, 33, of Bower Street, Harrogate, was given a 24-week jail sentence after committing further offences while subject to a community order. McKenna wasn’t sentenced for breaching the order but was instead re-sentenced for the original offences which led to that order being imposed in 2023. They included eight counts of shop theft and assault by beating, namely stealing cans of cider from Oakdale Service Station in Harrogate, the theft of a 10-pack of Strongbow cider from the One Stop on Knaresborough Road, stealing two cases of cider from the Co-op in King Edward’s Drive, the theft of two cans of Captain Morgan rum from Morrison’s supermarket on March 8 last year and stealing 12 cans of Stella and other items worth over £209 from the Co-op store on Skipton Road.

Benjamin Neale Luxford, 37, of Wedderburn Avenue, Harrogate, was fined £576 and had six points added to his licence for driving without insurance, but there was no driving ban under the totting-up procedure due to mitigating circumstances. The offence was detected on Stanhope Drive, Harrogate, on May 10 last year, when Luxford was driving a Vauxhall Vivaro without an insurance policy. As well as the hefty fine, he was ordered to pay £90 prosecution costs and a £230 statutory surcharge. But there was no driving disqualification because it would put his business in jeopardy and lead to the potential loss of his house.