A Doncaster man, who subjected a taxi driver to a terrifying ordeal during which he brandished a kitchen knife and threatened to rob him, has been put behind bars.
Sheffield Crown Court heard how at around 6.45am on January 4 this year, Lynden Arnold got into a taxi and asked to be taken to the Jet petrol station in Balby Road, Hexthorpe. After paying the fare of £5 upfront, Arnold, of no fixed abode began threatening the taxi driver.
Prosecutor Zaiban Alam told the court: "The defendant demanded that the taxi driver stopped, and said he had a knife. "He said: 'I'll stab you if you don't give me the money,' and produced a kitchen knife with a blade about three inches long. "The driver carried on and said I thought you wanted to go to Balby Road. "The defendant said: 'I've robbed you, now take me to the police station'."
Bizarre behaviourThe driver then drove Arnold, who previously worked as a nurse, to the nearest police station, honked his horn to alert officers and got out of the taxi shouting 'he's got a knife'." Arnold was then arrested by police on the spot. At the time of the incident, Arnold was in a downward spiral in terms of his mental health following the death of his father and committed the offence as a 'cry for help,' the court heard.
Ms Alam said the circumstances of this incident were very similar to that of one carried out by Arnold on August 22 last year, when he attempted to rob a Doncaster petrol station at knife point but then did not take the money when it was given to him. Arnold received a sentence of six months, suspended for a year when he appeared before the court for that offence in October last year. He admitted to one count of possession of a bladed weapon and one count of affray in relation to this offence at an earlier hearing. Sentencing Arnold to a year in prison, Recorder David Preston said: "This is a sad case, and a difficult case, involving a man who has had problems over the year."
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