CPS drop case after failing to find an interpreter
Charges against a man who was arrested following an incident outside a school in Preston have been dropped.
Mohammadi Reza, 38, of Larches Avenue, Preston, was arrested after his erratic behaviour led to Lea Community Primary School going into ‘lockdown’ last week.
Police were alerted and officers rushed to the school in Greavestown Lane, off Blackpool Road, at around 9am on Tuesday (September 8). Reza was arrested and taken into custody.
Lancashire Police said he did not attempt to gain access to the school, but patrols would remain in the area to provide ‘reassurance’ in the following days.
He was questioned and detained under the Mental Health Act, but was later returned to custody and charged with using threatening/abusive words and behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
Reza appeared before Preston Magistrates last Thursday (September 10), but the CPS was unable to find an interpreter and it was determined that the case was not worth pursuing.
The charge was withdrawn and Reza was released from custody. Lancashire Police issued him with a community protection notice and the force said the 38-year-old has since moved out of the area.
A CPS Spokesperson said: “We recognise the concern caused by the behaviour reported outside a school.
“The defendant was charged with an offence that could only result in a fine or a discharge, and as he had already spent two days in police custody and he had no financial means, any fine was likely to have been offset by the time he had already spent in custody.
“Despite best efforts to secure an interpreter when the case was ready to be heard, none were available. In those circumstances, after careful consideration, we determined that the case could not continue.”
