Blackburn man spared jail for involvement in robbery

Sumad Khan, who was 17 at the time but is now 19, appeared in court on Monday (May 15) for his involvement in the robbery of a teenager on the streets of Blackburn in 2021.

In January, Qahher Hameed, 19 of Country Mews, Blackburn, was jailed for nine months for his involvement in the robbery, a sentence which runs concurrently to a sentence of three years and six months for a separate robbery.

Prosecuting, Lisa Worsley said on October 22, 2021, at about 2.45pm, Hameed, who was with Khan, approached the 16-year-old victim who was on his way home from college and took his phone.

Hameed noticed the phone had a pin and asked the boy to tell him what it was.

The boy refused, with Hameed grabbing him and saying ‘give me your pin or I’ll hit you’.

At that point, Hameed noticed the boy had a bank card in the back of his phone and asked him if he had any money.

The boy said he did not, but Hameed grabbed him by the chest and said ‘if we find out you are lying, we will beat you up’.

The boy handed over his phone and bank card pin numbers, scared that if he did not the pair would be ‘violent and attack him’.

Hameed and Khan walked with the boy through town, passing the Halifax branch where the boy tried to get the attention of security staff.

Hameed put his hand over the teenager’s face to stop him.

Police officers on mobile patrol realised something was wrong and Hameed was arrested after they found the boy’s bank card in his pocket.

Khan handed himself in at the police station on October 28 answering no comment to all questions asked in interview.

Mitigating, Mark Stewart said Khan had been friends with Hameed for about three months at the time of this incident but he has since changed his ways.

Khan, of St James Road, Blackburn, has not been in trouble with police in the 17 months since this robbery and now is a carer for his uncle.

Mr Stewart also said that Khan was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the offence but he is now alcohol-free and has been for some time.

Mr Stewart argued if the court was to jail Khan, this could be counterproductive, putting him among those criminally minded who may have an impact on his thinking.

Recorder Andrew Nuttall said he agreed jailing Khan was not the best idea but said the decision was made by a ‘very small margin’.

Recorder Nuttall said: “It was clearly Hameed who asked for his phone and bank card.

“It was Mr Hameed who did all the talking but you were present, and you were party to it.

“Robberies of any kind are particularly serious – street robbery is no exception.

“I have to look at what is the appropriate sentence in your case.”

Khan, who previously pleaded guilty to robbery, was spared jail and handed a 24-month community order and must complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 30 rehabilitation requirement days.