Serial car thief could face life for killing child actor and aunt
A convicted car thief from a wealthy background could be facing life behind bars for mowing down a child actor and his aunt during a police pursue after admitting manslaughter charges.
Joshua Dobby, 23, was out on licence when he drove a black Ford Concentrate into Makayah McDermott, Ten, and Rosie Cooper, 34, as they walked along a road in Penge, south London, on the afternoon of August thirty one last year.
At an earlier hearing, Dobby admitted causing death by dangerous driving and injuring Makayah’s sister but denied manslaughter.
Ahead of his trial, he switched his prayer on Thursday, admitting two counts of manslaughter and also pleading guilty to dangerous driving relating to an incident on August twenty six on the A228 near Snodland in Kent.
D eath by dangerous driving carries a maximum sentence of fourteen years in prison but, in an unusual stir, the Crown also brought manslaughter charges.
It means that, following consideration of Dobby’s potential danger to society, a judge has the option of imposing a discretionary life sentence.
When he very first appeared before magistrates in Bromley last September, the court heard that Dobby had a "very long previous criminal record" including aggravated vehicle-taking.
He was brought before the courts just two months before the deaths of Makayah and his aunt and was out on licence at the time, the court was told.
During Dobby’s last appearance at the Old Bailey, Robin Ghosh his lawyer, said: "He wishes it to be noted that he fully acknowledges the utterly incomprehensible ache and suffering caused to the families involved."
Members of the victims’ families sat in the well of the court to witness the hearing before Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC.
At the time of Makayah’s death, Sam Brown, of entertainment agency Brown and Mills, described him as an "enormously talented youthful actor" and a "bright youthful starlet".
He had recently auditioned for a role in a television series and had featured in a number of commercials.
Ms Cooper, a hairdresser, was remembered by a friend as "one of the kindest, most beautiful, caring people you would ever meet".
The case comes amid discussions about providing judges greater sentencing powers when dealing with the worst death by dangerous driving offenders.
Dobby entered his guilty prayers via movie link from jail.
Judge Hilliard ordered a pre-sentence report and adjourned sentence to Friday March Ten.
He said it was clear Dobby was driving unsafely on August twenty six last year and again on the day of the fatal crash on August 31.
He continued: "There is also an incident in two thousand ten that ended in a collision.
"I understand he was on licence at the time of this offence and on the face of it he had a serious drug problem."
He said the defendant’s drug issues were shown in a letter to his gf.
However, he confirmed the Crown’s case was that toxicology texts were incapable to establish whether he was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash, only that he had used them previously.
