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The founder of a Jersey car fanatic group and his girlfriend are due to be sentenced for their involvement in a high-speed pursuit through St. Peter's Valley – even though neither was behind the wheel.
Steven Caldeira Pacheco (27) appeared in the Magistrate’s Court last month, accused of dangerous driving on 17 January 2021.
His girlfriend, Lilia Maria Bonito Ferreira (25), meanwhile, was charged with aiding and abetting dangerous driving by filming a two-and-a-half minute video of the high-speed, late-night drive on her mobile phone.
At the trial, Mr Pacheco admitted to being in a Ford Fiesta he owned, which drove at speeds of up to 86mph just after 03:00, following closely behind a white Honda Integra, which he had sold earlier in the month.
However, contrary to what the prosecution claimed, Mr Pacheco said he was not the driver of the Fiesta, but was in the back seat.
The driver, he argued, was a man called Pedro, who was taking the car on a test-drive before potentially buying it. He said he did not wish to “grass on” Pedro, and would not provide any further details about him.
He added that he ran a ‘Jersey Street Elites’ club of car enthusiasts. “When you have a modified car, people look at you like you’re one of the ones who speeds at night, and it disgusts me,” he said, “I want to promote safe driving."
The prosecution had argued that in creating what was described as a “trophy” video, which was later circulated on social media, Miss Ferreira was encouraging the dangerous driving as the person behind the wheel was playing up to the camera.
Miss Ferreira, however, argued that she was only filming in case there was an accident, as Pedro was driving "crazily".
Pictured: The cars drove at speed up St. Peter's Valley in the small hours of the morning. (Google Maps)
Delivering her decision last week, Assistant Magistrate Sarah Fitz rejected this explanation and found her guilty of aiding and abetting the dangerous driving. She said Miss Ferreira’s filming only encouraged the driver.
The Assistant Magistrate accepted that Mr Pacheco was not the driver of the Ford Fiesta but judged him to be a “secondary participant” in the dangerous driving, having failed to intervene in the dangerous driving and instead actively encouraging it.
"He in a sense provided the car, and being his car, he did nothing to prevent the driver driving dangerously." She did not accept that Mr Pacheco did not want to distract the driver by speaking to him.
Pictured: The pair are due to be sentenced next month in the Magistrate's Court.
Advocate Kate Ridley appeared for the prosecution during the trial, Advocate Francesca Pinel for Mr Pacheco and Advocate Frances Littler for Miss Ferreira.
Sentencing is due to take place on 10 June at 10:00.
27-year-old denies driving in high-speed valley pursuit
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