JAILED: Thug Richard Hall fled through window of blood-spattered taxi after attacking driverA TAXI driver fought off a violent thug who head-butted him "12 to 15 times" during an attempted robbery.
Richard Hall, 27, fled through the passenger window of the blood-spattered cab when the 57-year-old driver fought back and started to get "the upper hand".
Hall, who was so dangerous he was previously given an indeterminate sentence to protect the public, was seen running from the scene by a witness who went to the driver's aid and called police.
He had got into the Vauxhall Vectra, without any money, outside the Green Dragon pub in Beverley at 10.30pm on March 27, last year.
The driver tried to engage him in conversation, but Hall seemed "reluctant" to speak, Hull Crown Court heard.
After directing him to Hull, Hall launched a vicious assault on the driver as he slowed to between 5mph and 10mph in Fawcett Close, off Beverley Road.
Hall began punching, elbowing and head-butting the driver, who was initially unable to defend himself because his seatbelt locked.
The car scraped against a wall before coming to rest against a hedge, 50 to 60 yards from where the assault began.
Hall demanded money, but the driver told him he would not give him any, and after freeing himself soon turned the tables.
Jeremy Lindsay, prosecuting, said: "He started to fend him off.
"The driver said, 'When it became clear I was beginning to get the upper hand, the male started to try to get out of the car'."
A witness saw Hall climb out of the window, fall to the floor, and "run off at a fast pace".
The driver suffered cuts, bruising and swelling to his forehead and face, but escaped serious injury.
He was stunned and shocked, and thought he had been head-butted "12 to 15 times", Mr Lindsay said.
Such was the ferocity of Hall's attack, there was blood on the driver's seat and window, the central console and the rear-view mirror.
When Hall was arrested, his knuckles were bruised and swollen.
He refused to answer questions in interview, but later admitted attempted robbery.
Hall, of no fixed address, had an extensive record for robbery and violence and was given an indeterminate sentence in 2008 for robbery.
He is on a licence for life and can only be released with Home Office approval.
Christopher Dunn, for Hall, said he was on a curfew at the time and feared he would be locked up again if he did not get back to Hull in time.
He attacked the driver in "panic" and had not planned to rob him when he got into the car, Mr Dunn said, which was accepted by Recorder Paul Isaacs.
Mr Dunn said Hall was "deeply ashamed", and told the court: "He said to me in conference, 'He was an old fella and I shouldn't have behaved like that, because I knew if I breached my curfew I'd be back inside, and I didn't want that to happen'."
Jailing Hall for four years and three months, the judge told him: "You know what I'm going to say.
"Taxi drivers working late at night, there to assist the public, are vulnerable people, and you took advantage of that vulnerability.
"Had I taken the view that was indicated by the prosecution, that this was premeditated, then the sentence I am going to impose would have been much longer."
Read more:
http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/JAILED-T ... z3yQrv2F3U
Login
Register
FAQ
