Man took friend’s BMW during house party for ‘joyride’ to McDonald’s

Macauley Melvin, 25, then lied to police when stopped at the fast-food outlet by insisting he had just purchased the vehicle.

And Melvin, of Wordsworth Avenue East, Houghton, dug himself a deeper hole by failing to provide a sample for analysis.

The request came from officers who suspected he was under the influence of drugs after they found a white powder in the motor on Saturday, October 2.

District Judge Zoe Passfield banned him from driving for 18 months and warned him to reform his criminal behaviour, telling him, “I’m going to put the ball in your court”.

Prosecutor Paul Anderson told South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court: “He’s one of a number of males present in this particular house on this night.

“The keys are in the house, in the kitchen. It was a BMW 1 Series which was secured outside the house.

“The owner went off to bed and in due course the vehicle was found to have been taken. The defendant was stopped and appeared to be under the influence.

“Some white powder was discovered which indicated the presence of drugs, so he was asked to provide a specimen of blood. He refused point blank.

“He is interviewed and said that he took the car to go for a joyride. He tried to bluff it out by saying that he had just bought it.”

Melvin, who has nine previous convictions, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a sample, taking a vehicle without consent and failing to surrender to custody.

Robin Ford, defending, said: “He’s a young man who needs help. He’s fairly reclusive in terms of his lifestyle.

“There’s a little subplot to this. He was discovered at McDonald’s at Dalton Park, trying to get a large order.

“The car was returned undamaged. There’s no indication of bad driving.”

Banning him from driving, Judge Passfield also told him: “Mr Melvin, don’t come back.”

She also imposed 25 days of rehabilitation work and a six-month tagged 8pm to 7am curfew, with a £95 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.