Taxi driver: 'He said if I followed him he’d kill me'
9:02am Thursday 15th April 2010
A taxi driver was robbed at knifepoint after his passenger tried to pay him with four pence.
Sam Shepherd, aged 20, of Orwell Road, Smithills, chased taxi driver Saqub Khan when he fled his taxi after coming under attack, it is alleged.
Bolton Crown Court heard that Shepherd pulled Mr Khan’s jacket off his shoulders then threatened him with a knife before telling him: “If you follow me, I’ll kill you.”
Jonathan Dickinson, prosecuting, told the court Shepherd ordered a cab from Jo Baxi Private Hire in Glebe Street, Bolton, at around 1.30am on September 6 last year under the name Sam. He was picked up by Mr Khan who was told to go to Astley Bridge and drop the defendant off at the junction of Crompton Way and Blackburn Road.Mr Dickinson said Shepherd told Mr Khan the fare was usually £4 before he attempted to hand over four pence.
When Mr Khan looked at the money, Shepherd tried to grab his PDA device, which housed a panic button.
The device fell on the floor and Shepherd punched him in the face, said Mr Dickinson.
The court heard that the driver managed to press the panic button before fleeing, while the defendant spoke to two other men who had appeared.
Mr Dickinson told the jury that Shepherd ran after him, grabbed hold of the hood of his black reversible jacket and pulled it off him before striking Mr Khan again with an “uppercut”.
“He saw Shepherd remove a knife with a 5ins blade from his pocket,” said Mr Dickinson.
Mr Khan said: “He said: ‘Don’t follow me. If you follow me, I will kill you’.”
Shepherd, who denies robbery and possessing a knife, was arrested on September 9. He admitted that there had been a dispute over the fare and he ran from the taxi, but said he did not threaten Mr Khan.
The trial continues.
Source; theboltonnews.co.uk
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