1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192 
CASE STUDY
Page 40
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
John Beverley Brown
"On 13 May 2005, PC Storrar and I stopped him while he was driving a 32-tonne tipper," says McCarrick.
At the time, Brown's UK licence had been revoked; he had been running on a forged Irish licence as John Lewis. However, when the CV Unit stopped him he was running under another assumed name, which also had the initials 'JB'. Brown had been disqualified since 1979 and was using a stolen UK driving licence. He had stolen the real JB's identity. The tacho charts were in the name of JB and the truck was registered in that name.
"We seized the licence and found it was stolen, but it took us until January this year to find him again," says McCarrick.
The extent to which Brown had stolen JB's identity was extraordinary. "Brown had assumed the identity down to the tattoos on his arms," says McCarrick.
Brown's lawbreaking led to the real JB being convicted in his absence and heavily fined; his licence was endorsed and a warrant issued for his arrest.
On 4 January this year the CV Unit finally nailed Brown while he was driving an artic for a legitimate firm in South-East London. "It was good old-fashioned police work, a dual effort between me and Dave Storrar," says McCarrick. "I talked to all the lorry drivers I knew."
They arrested Brown for handling a stolen licence. "He gave us the John Lewis name and we eliminated that; he gave us his assumed name and we said that was untrue; so finally he gave us his real name of John Beverley Brown," says McCarrick.
The unit found the forged Irish licenceit wasn't even a good forgery according to McCarrick, who hails from Co. Sligo, Ireland. They took Brown to Bexleyheath police station where he was recognised by another officer who had once arrested him.
On 5 January Brown was charged with 17 offences including handling stolen goods (the licence); possession of a forged Irish driving licence; fraudulent tachograph charts; pecuniary advantage; and perverting the course of justice. He was held on remand until the trial.
"He pleaded guilty. He was stuffed we had everything," says McCarrick, "As his true identity became known we uncovered a flood of information, and on 6 March we charged him with a further six offences." On 7 April Brown appeared at Blackfriars Crown Court to plead guilty to 23 offences, He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment.
Brown was born in 1945 and received his first conviction at 17. "He has never held a full driving licence and never driven legally which has allowed him to avoid tax, fines and insurance," says McCarrick, But in the end he was unable to avoid the determination of the South London CV Unit.