Kind taxi driver robbed of his takings by thug who asked to borrow his phone
A kind hearted taxi driver who offered a man a reduced fare home, and let him use his phone to call his brother, but Felix Connors, 26, repaid the favour by pulling a knife on the driver and robbing his evening's takings.
Connors, of Oxcliffe Road, Heysham, has been jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to robbery and possession of a bladed article at Preston Crown Court.
Lord Justice Edis, sentencing, said: "You were clearly out of control."
The court heard that on June 18, 2021, Connors told the driver he did not have enough money to pay the full fare home. The driver agreed to take him for a lesser fare and made his way to Oxcliffe Road.
Outside the house, Connors asked the driver if he could use his phone to call his brother, so he could be let into the house without waking his mum. The driver agreed, but Connors started using the phone to try to buy drugs. He produced a knife and robbed the driver at knifepoint. As the driver started pulling away, Connors ran down the street and began kicking parked cars.
"You were found by the police completely out of control - a disaster waiting to happen", the judge said. "This man was completely defenceless, doing you a favour and reducing the fare because you only had a certain amount of money.
"He let you use his telephone - generally being a Good Samaritan. Your response was to produce a knife and steal his takings from him."
Connors was arrested and released but in December 2021, while he was under investigation, he was caught waving a knife around in the street and making threats to a man who had annoyed him. The court heard Connors had not committed any criminal offences before June 2021, but a family bereavement had been a destabilising factor. "It is quite clear from the pre-sentence report that you are dangerous", Lord Justice Edis said. "You pose a risk of serious harm to members of the public if you get drunk and go out carrying a knife.
"If that carries on, sooner or later you will seriously hurt someone and then you will be in very serious trouble indeed."
He sentenced Connors to six years for robbery with a year to run consecutively for possession of a blade article in a public place.
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