A CONVICTED drug dealer has been jailed for crashing into a police car.

A manhunt was launched for Jermaine Taylor when he went on the run after he smashed into plainclothes officers in Newport in August.

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Taylor, 22, of no fixed abode Newport, was at large for four months before he was finally arrested in December.

Justice caught up with him at Cardiff Crown Court after he was jailed when he admitted dangerous driving by crashing into an unmarked police car and parked cars, causing “serious” damage.

He had also been on trial accused of using his Seat Leon to deliberately to try and run over two plainclothes officers, PCs Andrew Owens and Ceri Parker.

Prosecutor Thomas Stanway said police were trying to arrest Taylor when they suspected he was dealing drugs in Brynderwen Road on August 2.

He told the jury: “The officers got out of their vehicle and shouted, ‘Police!’ The defendant revved his engine and accelerated towards the police car.

“There was sufficient space for him to make it past the police, but he turned his wheel towards them in an attempt to seriously injure them.

“They dived back into the police just in time.”

It took a jury less than an hour to clear him of two counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

During the two-day trial, Taylor’s barrister, Hashim Salmman, asked him: “Did you deliberately try and cause injuries to the officers?”

The defendant replied: “No. I would never try and deliberately hurt someone ever.

“I accept that I collided with the police car and I’m sorry for that. I misjudged the gap and I ended up colliding with them.

“I reversed and ended up crashing into cars further up the road. I just got into panic mode. I thought I would be recalled to prison for a lengthy period.”

Taylor was released on licence from jail after he was locked up for three years in 2017 for being concerned in the supply of cocaine and a further eight-month custodial sentence a year later.

He told the jury he had not been selling drugs on Brynderwen Road but had gone there to meet “a guy off Gumtree” to buy football tickets for the Manchester United v AC Milan game played in Cardiff last summer.

Judge Daniel Williams jailed him for 16 months and banned him from driving for two years.