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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Car thief guilty of murdering man | Car thief guilty of murdering man |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A car thief who repeatedly ran over a 76-year-old man who was trying to stop his car being stolen in Bristol, has been found guilty of murder. | A car thief who repeatedly ran over a 76-year-old man who was trying to stop his car being stolen in Bristol, has been found guilty of murder. |
| Scott Couch, 23, of Severn Beach admitted to Bristol Crown Court he had taken and driven the automatic Skoda Octavia on 29 November, 2008. | |
| Walter Bollen fought with him but was knocked to the ground before being hit with the car. | Walter Bollen fought with him but was knocked to the ground before being hit with the car. |
| Couch was jailed for life with the tariff to be set later in the week. | Couch was jailed for life with the tariff to be set later in the week. |
| Mr Bollen was on his way home from dancing and had stopped to key in a code to open security gates to his garage when Scott Couch jumped into his open car. | |
| The court heard Couch had been out drinking and was looking for a quick way home. | |
| 'Extremely violent' | |
| A witness described how he leapt into the driver's seat to steal the car, but Mr Bollen saw him and in the struggle that followed the pensioner was knocked to the ground. | |
| While he lay there Couch reversed the car over him twice before driving away. | |
| After reaching their verdict the jury was told of Couch's long history of car theft and burglary, including one incident during which he rammed a police car in a failed attempt to escape. | |
| Detective Inspector Guy Turner of Avon and Somerset Police said: "Couch is an extremely violent, dangerous individual, an arrogant man whose behaviour in court has been appalling." |