A getaway driver in a stolen Mercedes evaded police for more than 30 miles in a rush-hour pursuit which saw him reach a speed of 85mph on punctured tyres.
Kion Carter-Adams tried to outwit officers from Cobham on the A2 all the way to south-east London by weaving in and out of heavy morning traffic, undertaking other vehicles, jumping red lights and driving on the wrong side of the road.
The 20-year-old also travelled at high speed through residential streets, undeterred by the blue lights and sirens of the chasing police vehicles and the eventual deployment of a stinger device.
Maidstone Crown Court heard he was so determined to evade capture that he continued driving even after one tyre became loose and “bounced” across the road.
Pedestrians also had to jump out of the way at a crossing while other motorists took evasive action to avoid being hit.
Then, when officers were eventually able to box the Mercedes in, Carter-Adams drove into the rear of one police vehicle with such force that it was shunted “for some distance” down the road.
However, having decamped from the damaged car, which had been reported stolen less than an hour earlier in Snodland, Carter-Adams and his passenger were finally brought to heel with the assistance of a police dog after being found hiding in the grounds of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich.
Carter-Adams, of Hollydown Way, Leytonstone, east London, later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, burglary, theft, driving without insurance and failing to stop.
But despite his actions that day being described by a judge as “extreme and truly appalling”, the aspiring music artist has now been spared a custodial sentence.
Police officers chased Kion Carter-Adams from Cobham on the A2 all the way to south-east London. Picture: Kent Police
His accomplice, however, named as 20-year-old Joel Adekunle, was locked up for more than six years for his involvement in the burglary and car theft, as well as an offence of conspiracy to burgle.
This was in relation to an investigation by the Metropolitan Police into an organised crime group committing break-ins at more than 60 houses.
At Carter-Adams’ sentencing hearing on Thursday (January 2), the court heard how the pair broke into a family home in Snodland Road shortly before 3am on August 27 last year.
The occupants, including two young children, woke to find their car missing from their driveway and, having checked CCTV, discovered entry had been forced by “popping” a door and the spare car key nabbed, along with £15 cash.
With the theft having been reported and the silver Mercedes circulated as ‘wanted’, police in an unmarked vehicle soon spotted it on the A2 London-bound carriageway just after 5am.
Prosecutor Edmund Blackman told the court the car was tailed past Bluewater and on to Bexleyheath where it started to repeatedly change lanes, undertake, and “slot into” tight gaps between vehicles, indicating the driver was “aware” of police behind him.
The Mercedes then continued towards the South Circular, “squeezing through” the traffic, tailgating other motorists and still weaving across lanes.
It was as blue lights and sirens were engaged that Carter-Adams sped off, leaving the A2 to join Kidbrooke Park Road.
They eventually caught up with Kion Carter-Adams and pursued him on foot. Picture: Kent Police
Describing the pursuit that followed, Mr Blackman said even though the police vehicles had to speed up to 70mph in a 30mph zone just to keep visual contact, the defendant was still pulling away and accelerating to a speed in excess of 85mph.
Once on Kidbrooke Way, the Mercedes was seen travelling on the wrong side of the road, contravening a ‘Keep left’ island, and then taking a junction on the wrong side.
Police ahead of the car deployed a stinger device but, having punctured the tyres, the getaway car simply “wobbled” and reduced its speed to about 50mph before pulling out onto a roundabout.
An attempt to block the car was made but Carter-Adams forced other motorists to move out of his way so he could once again accelerate to 70mph and over a zebra crossing at 85mph, at which point the front nearside tyre “bounced off”, said Mr Blackman.
Speed bumps led to the Mercedes slowing down for a second time, at which point officers were able to successfully box him in but not before he had driven into the back of one police vehicle.
“The defendant shunted it some distance down the road, despite the officer having his brakes on hard,” explained the prosecutor.
“Both occupants of the Mercedes then decamped but were caught nearby. A balaclava, gloves and a metal tool were found.”
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the Mercedes owner and burglary victim detailed how he and his family had been left feeling unsafe and “extra vigilant” in their home.
He also described the effect on his five-year-old child, who had suffered from nightmares since and was scared to go to sleep or head downstairs alone.
“We ask ourselves what would have happened if we came downstairs, heard them, if they had weapons, would our children be safe?” said the homeowner. “
He was arrested after being found hiding in the grounds of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich. Picture: Kent Police
The court also heard that the Mercedes had been bought on finance and although an insurance payout followed, there was a £5,000 shortfall.
At the time of the offences, Carter-Adams was on post-sentence supervision by the probation service after he had served a five-month custodial term for supplying cannabis back in 2021.
Other previous convictions, dating back to when he was just 15, include charges of robbery, attempted robbery and possessing offensive weapons.
But his barrister told the court that after a three-year gap in his offending, he had committed the crimes last summer “out of desperation” for money.
Jessica Peck, defending, said Carter-Adams had a “promising” music career, having signed a record contract and provided songs and videos.
But she explained when he was not paid, he struggled financially and became involved in the burglary.
“He knew it was stupid, it was out of desperate need for money, but he realised it was something he should not be doing,” added Ms Peck.
“He turned to past behaviours that had become entrenched in him when he was a teen and had not yet been able to overcome.”
Urging the court to spare him custody in light of the current overcrowding in prisons and the early release scheme, and to give him the support needed to learn how to cope with problems in a “more adult-minded manner”, she continued: “He is not a stupid young man….He has the ability to turn this around.
“Is it not more beneficial to work with a young man over the next two years, than for a young man to sit in custody where there are limited resources available to assist him?”
On sentencing Carter-Adams, who was supported in court by his girlfriend and described by his mum in a character reference as “kind, caring and with a good heart”, Judge Robert Lazarus said he had no doubt the offences were committed “in full knowledge” of what he was involved in and with the intention of “financial gain”.
Joel Adekunle was jailed. Picture: Met Police
The impact of the burglary and car theft on the victims, including their children, was “significant”, he added.
Of the pursuit, Judge Lazarus said: “I have heard evidence of and seen a video of truly appalling driving….This was an extreme case of dangerous driving.
“It was a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road and disregard the dangers to others.”
But the judge decided that despite his concerns over the risk posed to the public, previous poor compliance with court orders and “relatively poor” rehabilitation prospects, a community-based punishment could be imposed due to the defendant’s guilty pleas, age and immaturity, the amount of time already served on remand and the fact he would soon be released.
Suspending a term of 19 months in a young offenders’ institution for two years, he told Cater-Adams: “You would, if sentenced to detention today, be given credit for what I believe to be in the region of 129 days on remand and in addition you would only be required to serve 40% of the sentence I pass before you would be subject to release on licence or post-sentence supervision.
“The reality is that the term you would have left to serve would be very short indeed and frankly, in the context of this case and your obvious immaturity, a completely pointless waste of a scarce and expensive resource.
“I accept what has been said on your behalf that what you need is intensive work with the probation service and even with the opportunity for post-sentence supervision you would not get the time commitment from the probation service that you would do on a suspended sentence that is inevitably going to be longer.”
As well as having the custodial term hanging over his head, Carter-Adams must undertake 250 hours of unpaid work and up to 35 rehabilitation activity requirements.
He was also banned from the road for 18 months and ordered to take an extended driving test to regain his licence.
Adekunle, of Chigwell Road, South Woodford, east London, was sentenced to a total of six years and two months behind bars by the same judge on December 13 last year.