Taxi driver tells court how he was robbed of £200 by Luton woman Charlotte O'HalloranA LUTON taxi driver told a court today (May 6) of the moment a woman passenger robbed him of £200 after threatening he would be shot.
Alad Uddin told Luton crown court she first grabbed his "float" of £50 before snatching £150 that had been in his pocket.
He said she told him there were people outside armed with a gun and he would be shot unless he handed over the money.
He was giving evidence at the trial of Charlotte O'Halloran, 30, of Moxes Close, Luton.
She pleads not guilty to robbing Mr Uddin on the evening of August 9 last year after he had pulled up in Ruthin Close in Luton.
Simon Wilshire, prosecuting, told the jury how that evening around 9.30 the driver had picked up the defendant and a man from Hockwell Ring.
He said that after the pair got out in Ruthin Close, Miss O'Halloran stood by the driver's door.
It's alleged that as she snatched the £50 and the keys to his vehicle she told him that three figures on a nearby balcony of some flats would come down and shoot him unless he handed over more.
In the witness box today Mr Uddin told the court he had picked Miss O'Halloran up on a number of occasions in the past.
That night he said she was with a young man.
Miss O'Halloran, he said, sat in the front passenger seat and the man sat in the back
He said following her instructions he made a number of stops, including an off licence.
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The court heard how he was then directed to Ruthin Close.
Mr Uddin said because of previous incidents involving taxi drivers in the area, it was his intention not to drive into the cul de sac but to park at the entrance to it.
But he said she persuaded him to drive to the end of the cul de sac where there was a turning circle.
One reason he said he agreed was because of his previous dealings with her.
He said he told the pair the fare was £20 and he said the male offered to pay, but Miss O'Halloran told him she would pay.
By now he said she was standing outside his driver's door and she then asked him to lend her a "fiver."
He went on: "I said no, pay me my money."
Mr Uddin said at that point he reached for his £50 float which was in the door compartment beside him.
With that he said she grabbed it from him, opened the door and grabbed the key from the ignition.
He said she was shouting: "come down, come down" and then took the £150 from him before making off.
Mr Uddin said he drove away and then activated the car's panic alarm
In the early hours of the morning he said he went to Luton police station.
The court was told in September of last year he picked the defendant out from an identification parade as the woman who had taken his money.
Read more:
http://www.luton-dunstable.co.uk/Taxi-d ... z3ZMOwUK1W
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