Thursday 8 June 2023

Train Passenger Robbed At Knifepoint

Nicholas Connor
A robber and his teenage accomplice have been locked-up for the terrifying knifepoint mugging of a train passenger for his wallet.

Nicholas Connor, 23, snatched the 29 year-old male victim's property while his 17 year-old partner-in-crime held the blade to the passenger's stomach.

Connor even told the youth – who cannot be identified - “just stab him” while rooting through the man's wallet.

Both pleaded guilty to robbery and the juvenile also admitted a charge of possessing an offensive weapon.

Connor received five years and three months imprisonment and the teen twenty-four months custody.

Inner London Crown Court heard on the evening of August 25, 2021, Connor and the boy noticed the victim board a southbound train at London's St Pancras railway station.

They both put on face coverings and walked down the carriage before pinning the victim against the train’s window – as they did so the boy pulled out a knife and held it against the victim’s stomach.

The pair then got off the service at Blackfriars station and later that evening Connor used the victim’s Oyster card when boarding a bus.

Investigating officers successfully identified the pair through the train’s on-board CCTV cameras and they were subsequently arrested in connection.

British Transport Police Detective Constable Daniel Phelan said: “We know offenders like Connor are targeting people on the railway to take their belongings, and we’re wholeheartedly committed to ensuring they are caught and put behind bars where they belong.

“This pre-meditated robbery would have been very distressing for the victim, I just hope the prison sentences handed down go some way to providing him with closure. 

“Our uniformed and plain-clothes teams deploy on the rail network every day to deter this crime type and ensure passengers’ right to a safe journey is upheld.

“If a robbery has just happened, always dial 999 – our officers will quickly deploy to your location and begin immediate enquiries to trace the culprits.”

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