JUST... FOUR AND A HALF YEARS FOR ATTACK ON CHESTER CABBIE


A Chester man who violently robbed a taxi driver has been sen- tenced to four and a half years in prison. Michael Morgan, from Blacon, pleaded guilty to robbery at Chester Crown Court.


Morgan, 21, had been picked up by the driv- er on July 17 last year.


Morgan assaulted the victim by punching him in the head and knocking out two of his teeth, causing bruising and swelling. He then stole a money belt with £75 inside. The driver needed hospital treatment fol- lowing the incident. Cheshire Constabu-


lary DC Roy Wellings told the Chester Leader: “Violence like this will not be tolerat- ed in Chester. The driver was understand- ably shaken by the assault and I hope that this sentence gives him peace of mind that his attacker is no longer on the streets.”


£2,500 FINE FOR MANCHESTER CABBIE WHO CASHED IN ON OASIS GIG


A private hire driver who tried to cash in as thousands of people left one of Oasis’s huge summer gigs has been fined £2,500. Biswajit Pal, 44, attempted to pick up fans as they left the Heaton Park concert in June. Pal was fined a total of £2,581 after being found guilty of a hire offence and hav- ing no insurance. Town hall licensing offi- cers were stationed outside the park during the band’s three-night


run to catch cabbies who tried to illegally tout for business. Manchester Magis- trates’ Court heard how Pal was spotted as he tried to pick up two female passen- gers following the June 7 gig, offering to take them into the city centre for £20 - double the normal rate. Pal, from Longsight, was convicted in his absence after failing to appear in court. He had eight points added to his licence. He also


faces having his taxi licence taken away when he appears before a council panel. Cllr Richard Cowell told the Manchester Evening News: “Unfor- tunately there were taxi drivers who attempted to exploit people as they tried to get home from this summer’s Oasis concerts. This case should reassure residents that we do prosecute illegal driv- ers who operate with no regard for their cus- tomers’ safety.”


TWO YEAR CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE FOR SOLDIER WHO ASSAULTED ALDERSHOT CABBIE


A soldier assaulted a taxi driver because he thought he had been overcharged for his fare, a court has heard.


Sapper Kieran Daw- son was ordered to pay his victim £200 compensation, told to pay £85 in costs and given a two-year con- ditional discharge. Appearing at Alder- shot Magistrates’ Court he admitted assaulting Aftab Hus- sain following a night out in Aldershot town centre.


The court heard that in the early hours of October 25, Mr Hus- sain was asked to drive 24-year-old Daw- son and some colleagues from Alder- shot to his barracks, which is between


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Farnborough and Yateley.


The passengers agreed a £30 fare and Mr Hussain told them that if the journey cost less he would give them the change. However during the journey the group took exception to the £30 fare and accused Mr Hussain of ripping them off.


Mr Hussain stopped the taxi in Station Road, Aldershot, and Dawson and the pas- sengers got out of the vehicle. Dawson repeatedly swore at the driver before slap- ping him twice round the face.


Shocked, Mr Hussain returned to his car and beeped the horn to get the attention of police officers who were


standing nearby who then arrested Dawson. When interviewed, Dawson told police he was annoyed at being overcharged so he pushed Mr Hussain in the face to show his disgust.


The Aldershot News and Mail reports that the soldier, from Liver- pool, joined the Army seven months ago and now faces disciplinary action from his com- manding officer. District Judge House told the defendant that serving in the British Army is commendable but warned him: “Drinking is what leads to violence in public and when somebody in a public capacity is assaulted, it makes it a more seri- ous offence.”


COMMUNITY ORDER FOR GLASGOW CABBIE’S ATTEMPTED BANK SCAM


A taxi driver attempted to draw £20,000 from a Bradford bank using a forged driving licence, a court heard.


Harpal Singh, 51, pleaded guilty to con- spiracy to commit fraud in November last year.


According to the Brad- ford Telegraph and


Argus, Bradford Crown Court was told that Singh who is from Glas- gow, attempted to cash two cheques valued at £10,000 each at the NatWest bank in Market Street, Bradford.


He gave a false name and presented staff with a forged driving licence as identifica-


tion, the court heard last month.


Singh was arrested at the bank after suspi- cious employees raised the alarm. He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 200 hours’ unpaid work and ordered to pay £535 prosecution costs.


12 MONTHS FOR TEENAGE THUG WHO ASSAULTED NORTHAMPTON CABBIE


A teenage thug who assaulted a taxi driver and racially abused two police officers has been locked up for a year for “totally dis- graceful behaviour”, a court heard.


According to the Northampton Chroni- cle and Echo, James Gore, aged 19, was given two consecutive terms for a sustained tirade of racial abuse to two officers who arrested him when he attacked taxi driver Keith Munns.


Northampton Crown Court heard how Mr Munns refused to col- lect a group of ten from Bridge Street, in Northampton, on October 25 when Gore became violent and abusive.


Hannah Mettam, pros- ecuting, said Gore was arrested, but then began a sustained stream of racial abuse on the journey to the police station.


Even after being placed in custody until the morning, Gore


emerged from the cell to continue his stream of racially motivated invective.


Sentencing, Judge Richard Bray said the police officers “were only doing their duty”. “I appreciate that no injuries were caused to the taxi driver but never- theless, assaults upon taxi drivers, at night, are serious matters.” Gore from Wellingbor- ough was sentenced to 12 months’ deten- tion at a young offenders’ institution.


11 YEARS FOR COVENTRY TAXI TERROR GUNMAN


A gunman who fired three shots at two ter- rified men as they jumped into a taxi in Coventry city centre has been jailed for 11 years.


Joseph Daniel Thomp- son had pleaded not guilty to the attempted murders of Terence Diedrick and Andre Welch, claiming the shots had been fired by a mysterious Man X. The 28-year-old from Coventry also denied having a handgun with intent to endanger life during the incident on April 12.


But a jury at Warwick Crown Court took less than four hours to find him guilty of both charges and at Birm- ingham Crown Court, Judge Trevor Faber jailed him for 11 years. According to the


Coventry Telegraph, Thompson had gone out armed with a lethal weapon “before there was any need in his mind to use it,” and it was a matter of luck that no-one was actu- ally injured.


During the trial prose- cutor Andrew Smith said there was a clash in Club Release in Burges, Coventry, between the two intended victims and a group, including Thompson, who threat- ened: “I’ve got my gun in the car and I’ll go and reach for it and squeeze it on you all.” The two men, desper- ately looking for a taxi, saw a black cab come round the corner and forced it to stop. As they got in, shouting at the driver to “drive drive drive”, Thompson


walked calmly towards the taxi, firing three shots. Two hit the taxi as it sped away while the third hit a nearby flower shop.


Thompson was later arrested. Police found three cartridges in the street, on which residue matched that found inside Thomp- son’s car.


During his trial, he maintained he claimed the gunman had been a Man X whom he would not name. After conviction Mr Smith revealed that Thompson had 41 pre- vious convictions. He added the gun had not been recovered, but tests showed it had been used in two other Coventry shootings in 1996 and 2007, although Thompson was not involved.


PHTM FEBRUARY 2010


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