A homeowner from Wolverhampton feared his property would be raided by police after a fraudulent driver provided his address during a traffic stop, a court has heard.
Court Details
Evidence was presented at Wolverhampton Crown Court from the man, who stated that he and his family had suffered "huge distress" due to the lie told by Adam Rybicki.
Rybicki, aged 60, gave West Midlands Police the name "Christian Benner" and the address Beach Avenue in Wolverhampton following a traffic stop on August 7, 2024.
Incident Description
Police stopped Rybicki on Holyhead Road, Birmingham, for using a mobile phone and not wearing a seatbelt, said prosecutor Robert Cowley.
The resident of Beach Avenue received a letter about the incident and returned the form stating he was not the driver on that date.
West Midlands Police used artificial intelligence to identify the man in body-worn footage from the stop, indicating a high likelihood that the suspect was Rybicki. A wanted marker was placed on his name in the police system.
Arrest and Further Lies
Rybicki was not arrested until November 20 last year when officers stopped him in Birmingham. Concerns arose because the registered keeper of the Vauxhall Astra he drove did not match the insured person.
He then provided another false name, "Marek Rudnicki," said Mr Cowley. Officers used a fingerprint scanning machine before taking him into custody, where he continued to give a false address.
During police interview, Rybicki answered no comment but later admitted to two counts of perverting the course of justice, as well as driving without a license or insurance.
Victim Impact
At the sentencing on June 12 at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Mr Cowley said the Beach Avenue resident had received correspondence on multiple occasions related to Christian Benner and other names.
Summarising the victim's statement, Mr Cowley said: "He said this has led to stress in his personal life due to an ongoing decline in his health. It has caused him and his family significant distress."
"He has lived in a small amount of fear lest this individual 'knew who I was,' and he didn't know what the consequence might be."
"He feared if these matters continued, the police may turn up at his address searching for this individual, causing further unease and distress."
Sentence
Rybicki, of Ettingshall Road, Wolverhampton, received one-third credit for early guilty pleas. Recorder Duck sentenced him to 10 months for each count of perverting the course of justice, totaling 20 months. He also received six penalty points for driving without a valid licence and three for driving without insurance.
