High Court Victor Fighting Stalking Conviction For Using Electronic Trackers To Pursue Debt

High Court Victor: Jimmy Vigh

A convicted stalker, who placed trackers on vehicles owned by his late-mother's ex-boyfriend in his bid to pursue a High Court debt, has begun his attempt to clear his name.

Jimmy Vigh, 48, of Saxby's Lane, Lingfield pursued a £70,000 debt against Subhash Patel, who says he was forced out of the home he shared with Celsa Vigh in Mosslea Road, Whyteleafe until her death on December 4, 2008.

Vigh was convicted at Croydon Magistrates Court of stalking Mr. Patel on or before November 19, 2014 and was conditionally discharged for two years, ordered to pay £350 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

He appeared at Croydon Crown Court last week, representing himself, to appeal the conviction and Mr. Patel gave evidence from the witness box to maintain he was being stalked and the hearing will resume on a future date.

The pair endured an acrimonious court case, which Vigh eventually won in November, 2013, with Mr. Patel ordered to leave the address and pay his opponent's costs.

Mr. Patel told the court he found five trackers hidden on his Vauxhall Zafira, which Vigh fully accepts he placed in an attempt to discover where his late mother's ex was living.

Vigh claims Mr.Patel uses aliases and has defrauded his late mother's estate by writing cheques on her account, cashing in her share certificates and stripped her flat clean before he was forced out.

Pursued: Subhash Patel

The appeal was told Mr. Patel did not report the first tracker he found to police, but brought them the second, which he found attached beneath his vehicle on August 14, 2014.

The police analysed the device and found it was linked to a mobile phone number Mr. Patel knew belonged to Vigh.

Police removed a third tracker on October 1, which had its own battery and was attached using a magnet and a DNA sample was taken, but no match found.

A fourth was found on November 16 and Vigh was arrested three days later and freely admitted placing trackers on Mr. Patel's vehicle so he could monitor his whereabouts and enforce a High Court judgement.

Vigh said he had no faith in police or solicitors to enforce the order.

“The first tracker was fitted in 2010 during the dispute over the property,” Mr. Patel told the court during the original trial. “The second tracker was found on the rear frame by a mechanic in August, 2014 and when I found the third on October 1 I reported it to the police.”

He said he found the fourth on November 16 and the fifth at the end of the same month. “It was a very small flat one and very difficult to see. So many tracking devices have been fitted to my car.”

Mr. Patel insists he does not owe Vigh a penny. “It has been settled. He's been paid a large amount in cash. He wanted seventy thousand by the way.”

He is still bitter about losing the flat he shared with Mrs Vigh. “I was evicted forcefully. The house was repossessed.

“He (Vigh) started extorting more and more money from me. I don't want to pay him any more.”

The legal bill which Vigh continues to pursue totals £33,723.

Mr. Patel refused to give his current address when he was in the witness box, explaining: “I don't want to say where I live in case he breaks in. When someone has threatened to kill you three times you don't give your address.

“He has made threats to me and the first threat was after I reported his money laundering and tax evasion.

“The second was when he was trying to evict me from the property.”