41-year-old Carl Isham, who fled from Police and tried to evade capture by hiding in undergrowth after running through East Cowes Cemetery, has now been sentenced for assault and harassment offences.
Isham, of St Edmunds Walk in Wootton, appeared before the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court yesterday (Tuesday), where he was handed a 13-week prison sentence, suspended for 16 months.
The sentence relates to an assault on a woman at an address on Vectis Road, East Cowes, on Friday 11th July last year, during which the victim suffered minor injuries. She was also subjected to repeated unwanted calls and messages on 4th June and again on 5th August, amounting to harassment.
It was on 5th August that officers attempted to arrest Isham, but he ran from Police across East Cowes Cemetery.
Police Dog Echo and his handler, Sergeant Charlie Winchester, were deployed to assist with the search.
PD Echo quickly picked up Isham’s scent after arriving at the scene, tracking him through the cemetery, over a wall and into a wooded area, where the police dog found the 41-year-old hiding in undergrowth.
Having admitted assault by beating and harassment without violence at an earlier hearing in April, Isham was also made subject to a restraining order, ordered to complete rehabilitation activity requirement days and told to pay £554 in costs and surcharge.
Inspector Andrew Mooge, from Hampshire and Isle of Wight’s Joint Operations Unit, has said:
“Police dogs like Echo are an essential part of frontline policing. They can be called to everything from helping search for missing people to tracking offenders or property, and time and time again they help keep our communities safe.
“In this case, Echo’s skills meant this man was found quickly so he could face the consequences of his actions.”
Isham is no stranger to the courts. As previously reported by Island Echo, he was disqualified from driving for 20 months in 2023 after crashing a Jaguar into a telegraph pole on Whippingham Road while more than twice the legal alcohol limit, with a child in the vehicle.
