Hungerford man Eithan Martin-Jones swerves jail time…yet again

A man who twice breached the terms of his suspended prison sentence has again avoided jail.

In April last year Eithan Martin-Jones admitted drink-driving in a Volkswagen Polo which he had taken, and subsequently damaged, without the owner’s consent.

The 21-year-old, of Combe View, Hungerford, further admitted he had been driving without insurance or a valid licence.

All the offences were committed in Hungerford on August 27, 2023.

Last April, Martin-Jones received a suspended 10-week prison sentence as a result.

This was suspended on condition he complied with various requirements, including unpaid community work and keeping probation appointments.

Last October, Martin-Jones was brought back into the dock for his first breach.

The court was reminded that guidelines recommend immediate activation of the original jail term unless it could be shown it would be unjust to do so.

The court was persuaded to give him another chance.

Instead of locking him up, an additional 20 hours of unpaid community work was added to the total, to mark the breach.

But on Friday, January 17, Martin-Jones was back in the dock at Reading Crown Court.

A probation officer told Judge Rachel Drake that he had breached the order yet again, failing to complete his unpaid work and generally showing “low level compliance” with authorities.

In addition, she said, Martin-Jones had disengaged with his court-ordered mental health treatment and failed to complete an online course.

The probation officer concluded: “Given that this is his second breach, it’s hard to move away from activation [of the prison sentence].

David Dainty, defending, said his client had been struggling because of a daily commute to work in Wales.

He said he worked to support his grandmother, with whom he lived, and that his partner was expecting his child in summer.

Mr Dainty explained that Martin-Jones was now working locally again and added: “He is determined, now he has got things back on track, to get those hours done.

“He realises he has messed up.

“But the court can’t ignore the fact that this is someone in work and determined to stay in work.”

Judge Drake told Martin-Jones: “You’ve come within a hair’s breadth of going downstairs [to the cells]; your last breach was only last October.

“However I accept what the defence says about your genuinely doing everything you can to move on from the original offences.

“I’m just satisfied that it would be unjust to activate the sentence – but no judge is going to give you another chance.”

Judge Drake ruled the original suspended sentence order should continue until February 2025.

She marked the current breach with a fine of £150.