A CRACK cocaine addict who committed two violent street robberies in two days has been jailed for six and a half years.
Qasim Hussain confronted his first victim with a raised axe on Toller Lane, Bradford, after dark on February 23.
Hussain, 24, of Queens Road, Bradford, struck again the next day, locking a disabled man in his car, stealing his money and bank card and threatening to take him on to the moors and stab him.
Prosecutor Alisha Kaye told Bradford Crown Court today that Hussain spun his first victim, aged 40, round by the shoulder as he was walking home for tea wearing headphones.
Hussain raised an axe above his head and demanded: “I want your wallet.”
When the man said he had no money with him, Hussain shouted: “I’m not a dickhead, I’m on the run.”
He then seized the man’s phone from his pocket and made off.
The following morning, the police saw Hussain at the wheel of a distinctive lime green Ford Fiesta speeding on Lumb Lane in Bradford.
He jumped a red light and accelerated along Canal Road with the police pursuing him in a marked patrol vehicle.
Hussain raised his middle finger at the officers chasing after him, Miss Kaye said.
After a pursuit along “numerous streets” the police lost sight of Hussain.
He drove to The Sun Hotel in Kirkgate, Shipley, where he spotted a 58-year-old man, who had been left with serious mobility problems after an accident, who was standing outside.
Hussain offered to sell him some tobacco and told him to get into the Fiesta while they did the deal.
Hussain locked the man in the car and sped off, hitting him on the head as he jumped a red light at Fox Corner on to Otley Road.
He pulled on to a car a park and demanded: “Give me your wallet. I’ve got a knife.”
Although the man did not see a weapon, he handed Hussain his wallet and he took out £90 in cash and his bank card.
When the victim gave Hussain a false PIN number, he was very annoyed when he returned empty-handed from a cash machine, speeding off with the man still on board.
“He said he was going on to the moors to stab him,” Miss Kaye said.
The police saw Hussain shortly afterwards and went after him again.
When they tried to block his path in Frizinghall, the Fiesta collided with the patrol vehicle and span in the road.
The disabled man sustained whiplash, chest pains and cuts from a shattered window.
He was treated by paramedics at the scene.
Hussain had previous convictions for a string of robberies, dating back to when he was 14.
His record also included possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin.
He pleaded guilty to two offences of robbery, possession of an axe as an offensive weapon, dangerous driving, failing to provide a specimen for analysis and driving without a licence or insurance.
Hussain’s barrister, Andrew Dallas, said his client had been in grip of a raging crack cocaine habit at the time and was desperate for money to fuel his addiction.
Hussain had received no advantages in life and began offending when he was a youth.
The last robbery he committed before these offences was when he was 17.
“He is no longer the tearaway young person that he used to be,” Mr Dallas said.
Hussain had been in custody since February and was now free from drugs and anxious to make a new start.
He hoped to train as a joiner while in prison to obtain employment on his release.
Judge Jonathan Gibson sentenced Hussain to three years imprisonment for each robbery and six months for the dangerous driving, the sentences to run consecutively. He was banned from driving for 21 months.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article