Police have located a man who failed to turn up at court for attacking a celebrant at a funeral.for one of the young men killed in a crash on the A66.
Gye Worthy, 40, failed to attend Teesside Magistrates’ Court where he was due to be sentenced for assault at the funeral, resisting arrest at the service, as well as a separate offence of theft of four bottles of wine from a shop.
Worthy, of Ruskin Avenue, Middlesbrough, also failed to attend the same court on Monday, where he was due to appear on separate charges.
Deputy District Judge Julia Baggs, sitting at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, agreed to an application by the prosecution for a warrant to be issued, “not backed by bail”, for Worthy.
The court heard that Worthy had not made contact with the court to explain why he had not attended, nor had he been in correspondence with his solicitors.
The deputy district judge said: “In these circumstances, I do accept the application for a warrant not backed by bail.”
Later on Tuesday, Cleveland Police said Worthy had been located.
Worthy has previously admitted assaulting the celebrant Paul Maull during the funeral service for Cole Worthy, 17, on 9 September.
At a hearing last month, he also admitted resisting arrest at the funeral service. He also previously admitted stealing four bottles of wine worth £30 from a shop on 8 October.
He appeared in court two days after the shoplifting offence and the case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
The court heard how a warrant had already been issued for his arrest on Monday after he failed to appear then.
Cole Worthy and four friends were killed in a head-on smash with a marked police vehicle in the early hours of 22 August on the A66 at South Bank.
They were in a VW Passat which was pursued by police but the operation was called off when the suspect vehicle went the wrong way down the dual carriageway.
Seconds later it collided head on with a car containing Pc Tom Clough and Pc Matthew Blades.
They were killed at the scene, along with Worthy, Jakub Matusiak, 23, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and Michael Cahill, 23.
Trouble was believed to have started earlier that night when a car rammed into Worthy’s family home in Acklam.
