Man who killed 7 geese in Warrington is spared jail

Abraham Andemariam didn’t stop after the distressing incident on Omega Boulevard and drove straight on to work.

He left the greylag geese suffering on the ground, with some dying and some sustaining ‘drastic injuries’ to their limbs.

Residents and passersby were left distressed after witnessing Andemariam's heartless behaviour.

And widespread outrage was caused following the shocking incident back in July after images and videos circulated on social media.

The 31-year-old appeared before Liverpool Magistrates’ Court for sentencing this morning, Monday, where he was assisted by a Tigrayan interpreter as he is originally from Eritrea in East Africa.

He was previously found guilty of seven offences of killing a wild bird, namely a greylag goose, as well as driving a motor vehicle without a valid MOT – a black Hyundai Ioniq - and driving without due care and attention.

Geese in the road on Omega Boulevard (Image: Supplied)

But the court heard that this was in his absence as he was in Ethiopia following the news that his 16-year-old brother had been shot dead when trying to cross borders.

Andemariam, of Asbridge Street, Liverpool, then saw he was wanted after the Warrington Guardian published a police appeal and he subsequently handed himself in.

Prosecuting, Tom Quirk said the offences happened at around 7am on July 15.

Mr Quirk said how Andemariam was coming from the direction of a roundabout when he ‘drove straight through’ the gaggle.

CCTV footage shown to the court revealed how Andemariam, who had four passengers at the time, didn’t slow down and after hitting the geese, he drove straight off to work.

The court heard that in a witness statement, one woman said the birds were suffering on the floor which caused her some distress.

She said that some of the geese then died, while others had sustained ‘drastic’ injuries to their limbs.

Feathers were later found in the bonnet of the defendant’s car.

Andemariam was arrested three days later and admitted driving into the gaggle.

A car was caught on camera running over the geese (Image: Supplied)

Defending, Rebecca Templeman said how her client is a man of previous good character and that he did cooperate with the investigation besides the ‘tragic circumstances’ that took him back home to Ethiopia.

Ms Templeman said: “He was appalled at watching the CCTV and was visibly upset with what he did on that day.”

The court heard how Andemariam, who lost his job at Amazon following the incident, has young children and that a prison sentence would have a detrimental impact on them.

Concluding, chair of the magistrates’ bench Reginald Nash said: “We have carefully considered all of the facts put before us today.

“The matters today are serious matters and having looked at the sentencing guidelines and overarching principles, we believe these offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence is justified.

“We have noted the harm to the animals and the damage and that you failed to take any action to avoid collision, thereby causing considerable suffering and damage.”

However due to the defendant’s previous good character and the impact that a prison sentence would have on his children, magistrates’ decided to suspend his prison sentence.

Andemariam received a 12-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months.

He must complete 50 hours of unpaid work and up to 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He has also been disqualified from driving for six months.