Seven Kings man guilty of hurling ‘racist abuse’ at driver
A motorist who screamed racist abuse at another driver before smashing her car window is facing jail for his “very ugly” behaviour.
Thomas Reilly, 22, of Colenso Road, Seven Kings, launched a tirade of abuse at driver Farhana Begum, 21, as her terrified 13-year-old brother Jakir Al Hadi looked on, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
After screaming racial slurs when the cars stopped at traffic lights next to each other, he lobbed a bolt at the car, showering her brother Abdul Kharhar, 19, in glass, jurors were told.
Reilly, who has 12 previous convictions for 20 offences, failed to attend court for his trial, which went ahead in his absence.
Judge Timothy King told jurors: ‘It is a very ugly piece of behaviour, amounting to road rage on this particular occasion, as I’m sure you would agree.”
You may also want to watch:
Paul Evans, prosecuting, said the “racially aggravated road rage” incident begun after his Renault pulled up alongside Miss Begum’s Ford Focus at a set of traffic lights near Barking.
Mr Kharhar wound down the window after Reilly began gesturing at them while they were waiting for the lights to change.
Most Read
- 1 Cost of damage runs into thousands as Clayhall street clears up after floods
- 2 Barkingside man arrested on suspicion of firearms offences
- 3 Ilford charity opens B&M store in Newbury Park
- 4 Redbridge clean-up underway after flash floods close A&E and damage homes
- 5 Developments approved in Redbridge so far in 2021
- 6 Engineering student wins place at Princeton University
- 7 A look back at floods which have devastated east London since 2016
- 8 Olympian-trained South Woodford sprinter, 8, breaks record in Manchester
- 9 'Darkest days of my life': Six-year-old diagnosed with rare condition suffers OCD, anxiety and depressive symptoms
- 10 The Sikh Network on grieving in lockdown and death 'as a process of life'
Miss Begum could hear him shouting a racist slur
Reilly followed her to a roundabout and spat on her Ford Focus before throwing the bolt through a side window.
He got out of the car to challenge Miss Begum at another set of traffic lights before driving off.
Police traced him from DNA in his spit on the side of the car.
The jury took less than an hour on Thursday to find Reilly guilty of two counts of racially aggravated assault and racially aggravated destruction of property.
He will be sentenced after a warrant for his arrest for failing to attend court is carried out by police.
