Jailed: The carjacker who sped off with a boy of two in the back seat
A carjacker who stole an Audi with a boy of two strapped into a child seat was today beginning a sentence of more than seven years.
Lee Southall pulled the driver over, claiming to want directions, but then punched him in the face and sprayed him with an unknown substance before grabbing the keys.
Southall, who was on licence for his role in a Staffordshire armed robbery in 2009, jumped into the car and left the driver and his partner at the roadside as he fled with their son.
The 39-year-old stopped a short time later and lowered the youngster, who was in the back of the vehicle, out of a window.
The drama unfolded in Francis Road, Stechford, last September 2. Southall fled with the car, which was never recovered, but the boy's mother spotted in a photo posted ona friend's Facebook page days later and raised the alarm.
He was on the run for weeks, but was eventually tracked down police. Southall, who is from Birmingham but has no fixed address, pleaded guilty to robbery.
He has now been jailed for seven-and-a-half years with an extended licence period of four years after appearing at Birmingham Crown Court. The extended licence means that the time he could be recalled to prison for breaching the terms of his release is longer than usual.
Dc Damian Forrest, from the force's Criminal Investigation Department, said: "This young couple only stopped their car to offer help and found themselves by the side of the road watching their son being driven away at considerable speed.
"Thankfully the two-year-old boy's ordeal lasted only a few seconds and he was swiftly reunited, unhurt, with his parents...but his father suffered a cut lip and other facial injuries.
"By chance the child's mother spotted Southall whilst browsing a friend's Facebook page a few days later. Southall became aware he'd been identified and went on the run…but we found him a month later."
"At the time of his arrest Southall was still on licence for his role in an armed robbery in Burntwood in March 2009. The judge recognised that Southall is a dangerous offender and I am pleased that he will be removed from the streets for some considerable time."
In 2009, he was one of two masked raiders from a team who held up a quiet village post office in Staffordshire who were each jailed for eight years.
Sub-postmistress Kim Frankham suffered a broken arm in the hold-up at Hammerwich, near Lichfield, Stafford Crown Court heard.
As soon as she saw a masked man enter the premises, she pressed the panic alarm and hid in the security cubicle.
But the door was not locked and one of the robbers tried to force it open, trapping her arm against it, said Mr Neal Williams, prosecuting.
The gang of four made their getaway in a stolen Toyota Avensis, but the car broke down a short distance away and two of the raiders, Lee Southall and Steven Moore, were arrested. Southall, then of Crosby Close, Birmingham and Moore, aged 24, of Barrows Lane, Birmingham, each admitted a charge of robbery.
