Robber held knife to taxi driver's neck when asked to pay £7 farehttps://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/tees ... s-29381070
A man who carried out a terrifying knife-point robbery on a taxi driver has been jailed.
Ben Earl ordered a taxi in January 2022 but when he was asked for the £7 fare held a knife to the neck of the victim and sprayed him in the face with an unknown liquid. The 36-year-old, from Stockton, forced the victim to hand over a bag with his change in and then stole £150 from his pocket before making off from the scene.
The victim attended hospital for treatment to his eyes and a cut to his hand and was left extremely shaken by the incident. Earl was arrested and subsequently charged by Stockton CID with robbery and possession of an offensive weapon. He pleaded guilty to both charges on February 28.
He was also sentenced for a series of drug offences which occurred in February this year. Officers from Stockton’s Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) stopped a suspicious vehicle on Rosslare Road in Stockton and recovered a significant amount of Class A drugs, cash and a lock knife.
Following a joint effort by Stockton NPT and CID, Earl was arrested and subsequently charged with two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, possession of criminal property and possession of a bladed article. He pleaded guilty to all charges on March 11.
Earl appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Friday, June 14, where he was sentenced to a total of seven years and six months for all charges.
Investigating officer DC Rusby said: “The victim has been a taxi driver for more than 20 years and was put through a terrifying experience. He has shown a great deal of courage to report the incident to police and attend court.
“I hope that the victim and members of the public can take some comfort knowing that this dangerous offender is going to serve a significant prison sentence.”
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