...JUST...
MAN WHO BRUTALLY ATTACKED BRADFORD CABBIE GETS 22 MONTHS
A Bradford cabbie who was subjected to what a judge branded a “brutal and thuggish” attack by a passenger said he no longer takes fares at night because he is scared of further assaults. Grandfather-of-three Khalid Salim was attacked with a metal bar leaving him with scars to his legs and needing pain relief medication. Robert Reynolds, 22, from Wyke, pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Salim and causing him
actual bodily harm in October last year and was jailed for 22 months. According to the Tele- graph and Argus, Mr Salim, 59, had been taking Reynolds and three other men to Holme Wood when they asked to stop at a garage for cigarettes, Bradford Crown Court was told. Reynolds returned to the cab, punched Mr Salim in the face and grabbed the ignition keys. When he got out to get them back he
was attacked with the two-feet long bar and his vehicle was dam- aged. Mr Salim said the pain was so bad after the attack he could barely stand. He was off work for eight weeks and said there were times he could not sleep with the pain. Shabir Munir, of the Bradford Hackney Carriage Drivers’ and Owners’ Association, said he hoped the jail- ing of Reynolds would act as a warning to others.
TAXI CALL GIVES BUNGLING TEESSIDE BURGLAR AWAY
Drunken burglar
James Bedford and his accomplice used the landline of their victim’s home to call a taxi as their getaway vehicle. The 3am call, with ring-back, led to Bed- ford’s arrest, Teesside Crown Court heard. The intruders snuck into the unlocked home in Redcar, stole a lap- top while a family slept upstairs, and called the taxi. Then the 20-year- old offered the stolen £350 laptop to the driv- er as payment. The pair ran from the
suspicious driver’s car in the early hours of November 27 last year, said prosecutor Victo- ria Lamballe. Hours later, the Red- car family awoke to find that the laptop and a camera were missing. One of the family recalled the phone ringing in the middle of the night, and they discovered the call to the taxi firm. Police spoke to the taxi
driver, who
remembered Bedford and the laptop offer. Bedford was arrested a
week later. He admitted the burglary - his first conviction. The Judge said violating the sanc- tity of people’s homes caused great distress. According to the Teesside Evening Gaz- ette, he gave Bedford a one-year prison sen- tence suspended for a year with supervision and 200 hours’ unpaid work. Mmmm.... One sees a nomination of this indi- vidual
for our Sad
B*****d of The Year Award coming at year’s end - Ed.
RACISTS JAILED AFTER WAKEFIELD DRIVER ATTACK
Three men have been jailed after a racist attack on a taxi driver. According to the Wakefield Express, Leeds Crown Court heard that Kevin Fi- nan, 31, and Martin Tolan, 20, beat up Ash- fraq
Ahmed
Flanshaw last May. The 33-year-old had picked them and Shane Dawson, 22, up from the city centre. Prosecuting, Heather Weir said Dawson hurled racist abuse at Mr Ahmed in the car who pressed an alarm
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to alert other drivers. The taxi stopped and the men refused to pay, then forced Mr Ahmed out of the car. Mr Ahmed’s brother arrived and all three men kicked his taxi. Mohammed Ahmed drove the car at Finan but Finan and Tolan ambushed
Ashfaq
Ahmed. They punched and kicked him, break- ing hisd nose. In interviews Finan claimed he was the victim as Mohammed Ahmed had deliberate- ly driven at him.
Finan and Tolan, both from Alverthorpe, admitted
criminal
damage and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Dawson, from Lupset, - who has a previous conviction for racially abusing a taxi driver - also admitted criminal damage and using racist language. Jailing the men for six months each the Judge said: “Taxi drivers need protection from people like you. They are vul- nerable and must not be attacked.”
DUNDEE BITE WOMAN MUST PAY COMPENSATION
A Dundee student who admitted biting a taxi driver in a dispute over a cleaning charge appeared at the sheriff court and was ordered to pay compensation and complete unpaid work in the communi- ty. The Dundee Telegraph reports that Patricia
McAllister, 20, admit- ted assaulting Charles Miller by kicking him and biting him on the leg during a scuffle outside Sainsbury’s supermarket
on
August 20. She also admitted assaulting police con- stable Laura Watson by kicking her on the
leg, attempting to head-butt her, striking her on the head and spitting on her. Sheriff Richard David- son ordered McAllister to pay £250 in com- pensation to the driver and to complete 100 hours of unpaid work as part of a community payback order.
MAN IN WEST BROM DRIVER ATTACK IS JAILED
A West Bromwich man who was part of a gang that attacked a taxi driver and stole his cab is behind bars. Ryan Henry has been jailed for two and a half years following the attack, which also saw the vehicle set on fire. Sentencing the 20- year-old at Wolver-
hampton Crown Court, the Judge said: “Taxi drivers take risks every time they drive at night and when they are robbed the court must pass sentences to deter other people. “These drivers perform a valuable service to members of the public and when they are set
upon the courts treat the matter very seri- ously.” According to the Express and Star, the court heard Henry did not take part in the actual attack on the driver or the setting of the vehicle on fire but he was part of the six- strong gang.
JAIL FOR SITTINGBOURNE MAN WHO ROBBED TAXI DRIVER
A thug who helped rob a taxi driver of just £30 in change has been jailed for four years. Maidstone
Crown
Court heard that David Brunger, from Sitting- bourne, and three other men asked cab- bie John Rikard to take them to Selling last August. According to the Kent Messenger, as the taxi reached Selling Road,
Faversham, a piece of cloth or scarf was put over Mr Rikard’s head, yanking him back and making it difficult for him to breathe. When freed, Mr Rikard threw his cash dis- penser
in their
direction and they fled. Brunger admitted rob- bery and burgling a house in Whitstable, in November last year. He asked for 16 other
burglary offences to be considered. He was facing a mini- mum three-year sen- tence for the burglary, having
committed
more than three similar offences in the past. But Judge Charles Macdonald reduced the sentence to 16 months because he passed a consecutive term of two years eight months for the robbery.
WORK ORDER ON BOSS
A scaffolding boss hurled a barrage of racial abuse at a taxi driver in Shrewsbury before assaulting him and a fellow driver. According to the Shropshire Star, Roger Pritchard blamed alco- hol and painkillers and said he had no recol- lection of the incident when he appeared at Shrewsbury Magis- trates’ Court in May. Pritchard, 43,
IN SHREWSBURY DRIVER ATTACK Shrewsbury,
was
picked up by Telford cabbie Vinod Kumar and asked Mr Kumar why his company did not send any English drivers before racially abusing him. When
the driver from
pressed his emergency button, Pritchard grab- bed him and swung a punch. The court heard other drivers soon turned up on the scene and
Pritchard also threw a punch at another Telford driver, Roger Dickin. Pritchard admitted at a previous hearing two charges of
racially
aggravated common assault. He was sen- tenced to a 12-month community
service
order including 300 hours of unpaid work, ordered to pay £85 costs and £100 com- pensation to Mr Kumar and £50 to Mr Dickin.
PHTM JULY 2012
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