Taxi Driver Online

Plymouth taxi driver told he would be killed by knifeman if he didn't hand over cash

A man who pulled a knife on a taxi driver and demanded he hand over his earnings or be killed, has been jailed for two years and four months after the court heard he had turned his life around.

Tommy Bottrill, of Thanckes Drive in Torpoint, pleaded guilty at Plymouth Crown Court to the charge of robbery which occurred on February 20, 2019.

Prosecutor Michael Brown told the court Bottrill and two other men were picked up by taxi driver Andrei Lozovamu at around 4am from Pike Road.

He said no name was given at the booking but Bottrill got into the front seat while the other two men got into the back seats.

Bottrill made small talk with the driver for a short period but at one stage claimed he was cold and pulled up his hood – but the Mr Lozovamu noted this only happened shortly after Bottrill spotted the internal face and dashcam equipment.

Mr Brown told the court Mr Lozovamu recognised how his passenger appeared to become more agitated before turning around to speak to the passenger behind him, whereupon the rear passenger handed him an object which the driver believed was the knife later used to threaten him.

The driver was asked to pull over in Haystone Place, a secluded dead end road, and the two rear passengers got out.

The court heard that Bottrill pulled out the knife – which appeared to be around 20cm long - and said: “Give me all of your money or I will kill you”.

Mr Lozovamu passed over around £50 in notes but Bottrill then lifted the knife up and repeated his demand, whereupon the driver handed more than £20 in small change. Bottrill then got out of the taxi, but not before grabbing the internal dashcam and taking it with him.

In a victim impact statement taken shortly after the robbery Mr Lozovamu said the incident frightened him and he was now very nervous about picking up passengers.

He said he had been “afraid for my life” but said he had to carry on his job as a taxi driver to earn a living.

A year later, he gave another victim impact statement, where he said he was “still worried” about his safety and wellbeing when he was working as a taxi-driver and that there were “remnants” of the incident which still affected.

He said he had refused to pick up from certain areas of the city and had refused to pick up people who gave him “bad vibes”.

He remarked: “This incident has changed me and I don’t think I will ever be the same”.

The court heard Bottrill was later arrested and replied “no comment” throughout his police interview.

Mr Brown told the court Bottrill had three convictions for eight offences, the last being in October 2019 where he received an 18 month prison sentence for threatening people with a kitchen knife.

In mitigation, his advocate Will Wilden told the court his client was a “completely different human being from last year” and had now got off alcohol and drugs, and had re-established a positive relationship with his son and was now the primary carer for his father who is battling cancer and his mother who was in hospital with severe disabilities.

He noted that the offence took place in February 2019 and that Bottrill was jailed in October of that year for another offence, being released on April 24 this year.

He told the court Bottrill was a “very, very rare case where custody has worked”.

Mr Wilden told Judge James Townsend that Bottrill “is clear of drugs and has become a stable member of the community”. He said his client understood that he had to go to prison and had shown “unbelievable remorse”, indicated by his guilty plea which he had first indicated at the Magistrates’ court in July.

Judge Townsend told Bottrill the effect his actions had had on the taxi driver had been “very substantial”, causing him “fear and the loss of confidence in his job”.

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IDFIMH

another light sentence methinks.

probably be out again in a year

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector