Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court has sentenced Luke Richardson (29) and James Abbotts (32) to a total of six-and-a-half years in prison after threatening and mugging a cab driver at knifepoint last year.
On 20 June 2023, Richardson and Abbotts ordered a taxi to an address in Middleport. Once in the taxi, the two men ordered the cabbie to drive them to various locations across the city as they hunted for a missing bag containing drugs, cash, and phones.
Later, Richardson pulled a knife on the cab driver and demanded that he hand over cash. The cabbie, who was forced to take a month off work following the ordeal, handed over £180 to Richardson.
After Abbots grabbed the money from the taxi driver’s hand, the two men exited the vehicle and ran away. The two perpetrators didn’t pay for the cab ride, so the cabbie lost £280 in total.
Staffordshire Police were able to identify the men using CCTV footage. Both men pleaded guilty.
Abbotts was sentenced to three years while Richardson was sentenced to three-and-a-half years.
Experienced writer and journalist James McKean leads the daily editorial output at StaffsLive. To contact him, email news@staffslive.co.uk
