A car thief who was found not guilty of murdering a young father has appeared in court for the theft of a Mercedes involved in a 100mph police chase.
Elliott Fiteni was one of five people who went on trial over the killing of Ryan O'Connor - who was stabbed to death in the street in a random attack. Although the 21-year-old was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter, jurors in that case had been told that the car the killers had jumped out of had been stolen by serial thief Fiteni.
At the end of the murder trial, he walked out of a court a free man. However, more than a year later he found himself back in front of a judge. A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday heard Fiteni was found to be a passenger in a stolen Mercedes on July 30. Both he and co-defendant Macauley Thomas were seen running from the car following a police chase.
Read more: The murderers who stabbed Ryan O'Connor to death and their violent past
The vehicle was stolen from outside a property in Tonyrefail, which was reported by the owner to police. Officers began investigating the theft with the assistance of a police helicopter and saw the Mercedes being driven in the opposite direction.
Having seen the police, the driver of the Mercedes failed to stop and drove off at speed, reaching speeds of 60mph which increased to in excess of 100mph in the direction of Barry. It maintained speeds of 85mph in a 30mph zone, while navigating parked cars in the road. The police helicopter kept sight of the stolen vehicle and directed police on the ground to a rear garden.
Both of the defendants had fled from the car and hidden underneath raised decking, but they were located by police and arrested. During their interview, Fiteni denied knowing the car was stolen and Thomas answered no comment.
Fiteni, of Cardiff, and Thomas, of Heol Pencarreg, Bargoed, Caerphilly, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking. Fiteni has 17 previous convictions, including 15 offences related to theft. He also has convictions for dangerous driving and robbery. He was jailed for 31 months last year after he stole an Amazon delivery van. Thomas has five previous convictions, related to drug driving and possession of drugs.
In mitigation, Harry Baker for Fiteni said his client accepted there would be an immediate custodial sentence in his case and asked for the sentence to be kept "as short as possible". Paul Hewitt, for Thomas, said a community order had been recommended by probation and said his client had good work prospects as a qualified bricklayer and had been offered work on the railways.
Sentencing, Judge Wayne Bard said: "This was an area that was totally unsuitable for such speeds to be undertaken. Although this was at night it seems to me this was particularly dangerous to any other road users and it was fortune alone that prevented there being any accident or injuries."
Fiteni was sentenced to 12 weeks detention in a young offenders' institute and was disqualified from driving for two years and six weeks. Thomas was sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment suspended for 24 months. He was ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work, a rehabilitation activity requirement of 20 days and disqualified from driving for two years.
Last year, during the murder trial, jurors were told that Fiteni was present when Mr O'Connor was murdered by Joseph Jeremy and Lewis Aquilina in Newport in June 2021. Jeremy and Aquilina got out of a stolen Ford Fiesta and stabbed Mr O'Connor, 26, five times, before leaving him dying in a pool of blood.
The court heard Mr O'Connor was robbed of a Gucci bag, before the murderers got back into the Fiesta, which was driven back to Cardiff. A police chase ensued before the car reached its destination, and Jeremy, Aquilina, Fiteni and two other occupants, Kyle Raisis and Ethan Strickland were arrested.
Fiteni was acquitted of murder, manslaughter and robbery following a trial at Newport Crown Court last year. Aquilina and Jeremy were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, with Jeremy receiving a minimum of 24 years and Aquilina receiving a minimum sentence of 22 years. Raisis was convicted of manslaughter and robbery, and was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. Strickland was found guilty of robbery and sentenced to eight years detention in a young offenders' institute.
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