JUST DESERTS


KETTERING TAXI DRIVER’S KIDNAPPING ORDEAL ENDED WHEN FELLOW CABBIES BLOCKED ROUTE


A Kettering cabbie who was kidnapped by customers saw his ordeal come to an end when fellow cabbies blocked their route. Northampton Crown Court heard that the incident took place at about 9.30pm last November. Prosecutor Julian Lynch said Corey Stafford, 30, (left) and Shannon Johanson, 31, (right) refused to pay the driver and Stafford punched him and they both threatened him. The victim was forced to drive to Northampton, but was able to contact other drivers on the radio and his ordeal, which lasted 11 min- utes, came to an end when two


guilty of charges of robbery and possessing a bladed article. The court heard the pair’s previous convictions include robbery and GBH. Sentencing, Recorder Simon King told them: “It was your violence and threat of violence that forced him to begin a journey in a state of high fear and anxiety.” Recorder King said they


had


other taxis blocked the route. Stafford, from Barton Seagrave, and Johanson, from Northampton, both fled but were later arrested and remanded in custody. They were both found guilty of kidnap by a jury but found not


targeted someone who was working on their own late at night. On 7 June, Stafford and Johanson were both jailed for 42 months and will serve up to half of their prison sentence locked up before being released on licence.


TAXI DRIVER TOLD HE’D BE ‘PUT IN GRAVE’ DURING TERRIFYING STAFFS KNIFE-POINT ROBBERY


A taxi driver was forced to take a month off work after a terrifying knife-point robbery in his cab. Luke Richardson (right), 29, and James Abbotts (left), 32, carried out the offence as they were hunting for a bag they’d misplaced containing drugs, a phone and cash. Now Richardson, from Kidsgrove, has been jailed for three-and-a- half years and Abbotts was locked up for three years. Prosecutor Annabel Hale said the victim collected both defendants from Middleport at 6.05am on June 20 last year. The driver remembered them from previous occasions and had no problems. “Both were talking to him about a bag they had left in another taxi,” Abbotts had contacted Magnum and arranged to meet another taxi. They both got out when the other


PHTM JULY 2024


cab arrived but quickly returned. Richardson said, ‘Just drive’. Both seemed aggressive and agitated. “They were again on the phone to Magnum Taxis. They said: ‘We have got one of yours here. We’re going to put him in his grave’. The driver said he didn’t work for Magnum. “Richardson said, ‘We’re taking your money and car. I want £200’. The driver felt a tap on his shoulder and neck. He saw Richardson holding a knife. “He stopped his taxi and Abbotts


grabbed £180 from the centre console and the defendants ran off.” The taxi driver said he no longer likes his job in a victim impact statement read to the court. Both men pleaded guilty to rob- bery. Judge Michael Maher said: “The victim is a hard-working man. He works long and unsociable hours. Every day he puts himself in a vulnerable position to provide a service to this community. “You, Richardson, had left a bag in another cab. You threatened to put him in his grave. No wonder he felt so terrified. “Richardson, you demanded £200 from him. You tapped him on the shoulder, under the neck area, with a knife. He handed over every penny in his possession. “You were acting together. This was a joint enterprise.”


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