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A man who robbed one person and attempted to rob another all within ten minutes at The Hawthorns railway station has been jailed, following a British Transport Police investigation.
Michael Gazi, 23, and of Oxhill Road in Birmingham, pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, one count of attempted robbery, and three counts of fraud.
He was sentenced on Wednesday 8 January 2025 at Birmingham Crown Court to four years and four months imprisonment.
The court heard how on Tuesday 30 March 2021 at around 10.15pm, Gazi approached the victim on the platform at The Hawthorns railway station. Gazi repeatedly demanded that the victim hand over his money, but the victim refused. Eventually the victim was able to get away.
Shortly after, at about 10.20pm, Gazi approached a different man on the platform and demanded he hand over his wallet and money, pushing him against a wall.
Gazi then threatened to stab the man, gesturing towards his tracksuit bottoms and implying he had a knife before taking the man’s wallet and PIN code for his debit and credit cards.
Gazi made repeated stabbing motions towards the man’s neck, saying: “If you snitch on me, I’ll stab you. If you cancel the cards, I’ll stab you. If I can’t take money out, I’ll stab you.” Gazi also threatened the man’s family, noting the home address on the mans driving license.
Gazi attempted to take money out of the victim’s bank account 31 times, succeeding three times, though this money was later reimbursed to the victim.
In interview with the police, Gazi showed no remorse for his actions and refused to engage with officers despite both the attempted robbery and robbery being clearly visible on station CCTV.
Investigating officer DS Tanya Dickinson said: “I’m extremely pleased with the result handed down. Gazi is a dangerous individual who acted with extreme violence for his own benefit, and I hope this sentence provides him time to reflect on his actions.
“Tackling robbery is a force priority, and I am pleased that one more offender has been taken off of the railway network. His brazen attacks were carried out in public in full view of CCTV, meaning we could quickly capture and circulate images of Gazi, empowering us to catch and prosecute him.”