Telford taxi driver alleges phone taken in rowA 23-year-old man racially abused and assaulted a taxi driver before stealing his mobile phone and trying to grab his car keys as a dispute over the fare spilled out onto a petrol station forecourt.
Steven Edwards was captured on CCTV at the Shell garage in Ketley, Telford, grabbing driver Hassan Mirza in a headlock and pinning him up against the wall.
Shrewsbury Crown Court heard Mr Mirza, who worked as a driver for Shifnal-based Telford Taxis, had answered a call to pick up Edwards and another man from the Duke of York pub in Oakengates in the early hours of March 8 this year.
Mr Jason Aris, prosecuting, said a dispute arose over the fare and Edwards, who was sitting in the back of the taxi behind Mr Mirza, started racially abusing him and pulling his hair.
Mr Mirza, giving evidence at court yesterday (WED), said: “He was pulling my hair really hard.
“I was upset, it really hurt, and I couldn't concentrate properly on driving.
“I was scared as well that he was maybe going to do something else.”
The court heard the taxi driver initially drove back into Oakengates to try and find a police officer to report the matter.
But he was unsuccessful and drove onto the garage forecourt to ask the attendant to phone the police, prosecutor Mr Aris told the court.
Mr Mirza said: “I got out of the car and they both got out with me.
“He (Edwards) said 'give me the keys'. I said why? He said 'I am going to take your car, give me the keys'.
“He was fighting, trying to take the keys out of my hands, I had to hold them really tightly.
“I had my phone and I was trying to phone the police. But it dropped out of my hands, and he (Edwards) picked it up and ran off with it.”
Mr Aris told the court police were called and Edwards was arrested a short time after.
A search revealed he was in possession of Mr Mirza’s white Samsung Galaxy mobile phone, the court heard.
Mr Aris said: “The crown will say that it is clear from the CCTV footage that Mr Edwards is the aggressor.
“Mr Mirza does all he can to get away from the defendant.
“Mr Edwards is the one pushing him up against the wall, getting him in a headlock, grappling with him, dragging him around the forecourt.
“Mr Mirza tries to throw his keys through the serving hatch so the defendant cannot take them, and the footage shows Mr Edwards sticks his arm straight in to try and retrieve them.”
Edwards, of Clift Crescent, Wellington, Telford, had already admitted a charge of racially aggravated assault on Mr Mirza by beating at a court hearing in June.
But he denies charges of attempted robbery, in relation to the car keys, and theft of the mobile phone.
Judge Peter Barrie was expected to complete his summing up today (THUR) before sending the jury out to consider their verdicts. The trial continues.
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