West Bromwich railway robber caught on camera at the Hawthorns train station
A man who robbed one person and attempted to steal from another all within the space of ten minutes at the Hawthorns Railway Station in West Bromwich has been jailed.
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Michael Gazi, aged 23, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, one count of attempted robbery, and three counts of fraud in relation to the incident at The Hawthorns railway station in West Bromwich, which happened on March 30 in 2021 at around 10.15pm.
He was caught following an investigation carried out by the British Transport Police after complaints that he approached the victim on the platform at Hawthorns Railway Station off Carlton Road.
Gazi repeatedly demanded that the victim hand over his money, but that person refused to give him anything. Minutes later he approached a different man on the platform and demanded he hand over his wallet and money, pushing him against a wall an threatening to stab him.
As a result he got his hands on the man’s wallet and code for his bank cards telling him: “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.”
Before the victim was able to cancel his cards Gazi attempted to take money out of the victim’s bank account 31 times, succeeding three times. The stolen money was later reimbursed.
Investigating officer Det Sgt 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.”
Gazi, of Oxhill Road, in Handsworth, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to four years and four months jail on January 8.
