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June 21, 2007 Thursday
South Wales Argus
Jail for taxi thief
A JOBLESS Newport man who gave his girlfriend a beating, attacked a taxi driver and then drove around in his cab for two days was jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Ryan Cox, 30, of Collingwood Avenue, Newport, had been found guilty by a majority verdict of ten to two of causing cab driver Mohammed Latif actual bodily harm. He was also found guilty of stealing property worth £1,000 belonging to him.
He was cleared of a charge of robbing Mr Latif.
Cox was also in breach of a suspended sentence imposed for damaging his girlfriend's home, burglary and causing her actual bodily harm.
At Cardiff crown court, prosecutor Chris Rees said that on the night of January 18, Cox took a taxi from the centre of Newport to Alexander Road.
There, he was asked for the fare of £3.50 but failed to pay and grabbed Mr Latif by the throat, pressed something sharp into his stomach and said: "Give me the money."
Mr Latif suffered a cut to a knuckle. Cox then jumped into the Mercedes taxi and drove off. Two days later the police stopped him driving towards Cardiff. In the meantime he had taken from the cab the radio, sat-nav equipment and the meter.
Laurence Jones, prosecuting in respect of the breach of the suspended sentence, said Cox went to the Cardiff home of his ex-girlfriend, shouted obscenities at her and kicked in the front door.
He said that a month later he went to her home, punched her in the face and stole from her handbag important documents and £100. The victim, Avril Scanlon, was "absolutely petrified" during her 30-minute ordeal, said Mr Jones
Cox's counsel, John Kesner, said: "He turned to crime when he became unemployed. "Much of his offending was committed on the spur of the moment when he simply failed to consider the consequences.
"He accepts that the court's only option is custody."
Passing sentence Recorder Nicholas Gareth Jones told Cox: "Not only didn't you pay the taxi fare, you assaulted the driver. You pushed him to the ground and drove off and you then stole items from inside the car.
"At the time you were under the influence of drink and drugs."
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