Halifax man who intimidated and stole from minicab driver jailedA 21-year-old man has been jailed for 14 months after he intimidated a minicab driver during a dispute over a fare and then stole about £40 in cash from him.
A court heard that Luke Fitzgerald’s victim now had problems working at night and suffered flashbacks and stress following the confrontation in August.
Judge Peter Benson said minicab driver Saeed Ahmad was a “vulnerable victim” due to the nature of his work and he was still suffering problems with anxiety.
Bradford Crown Court heard how Fitzgerald, of West Parade Flats, King Cross, Halifax, had ordered a minicab from Ziggy’s Metro Cars to take him to the Pellon area.
After picking up a woman from a pub Mr Ahmad drove them to their destination, but he was only given about half of the fare.
Fitzgerald pleaded guilty to stealing the money from complainant’s vehicle and also getting into the driver’s seat in an attempt to take the car.
Prosecutor Georgina Coade said Fitzgerald accepted that his behaviour that night became intimidating.
Fitzgerald, who has previous convictions dating back to when he was a juvenile, ran off with the cash, but when he was arrested four days later Mr Ahmad picked him out during identification procedures.
Barrister Jayne Beckett, for Fitzgerald, said the father-of-one had spent a lot of his younger years in custody and now wanted to become a good role model.
“He has decided for himself that he wants to change his ways and stop behaving like this,” said Mrs Beckett.
Fitzgerald, who recently served a 15-week prison sentence for a public order offence, will have to serve about half of the 14-month jail term before he is released.
source:
http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/cr ... -1-6987139
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