A crack cocaine addict who held up two West Yorkshire cabbies at knifepoint has been jailed for eight years on his 30th birthday.
Daniel Marsland carried out the terrifying robberies in the space of two days last October while he was already on bail for assaulting police officers during a violent incident in Halifax four months earlier.
A judge heard today (Tues) that Huddersfield-based cabbie Mustafa Mohammed had given up working after Marsland’s late-night attack on him.
Bradford Crown Court heard that Marsland was using crutches after fracturing his shin when he was picked up by Mr Mohammed at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.
The pair chatted as they travelled to Siddal, but after the taxi stopped Mr Mohammed felt something “cold and metallic” against his skin and realised a knife was being held to his neck.
Marsland demanded his money and the cabbie handed over a wallet containing £110 as well as bank cards and his driving licence.
The defendant fled down a side road on his crutches and Mr Mohammed ended up crashing into a wall as he tried to follow him.
Two days before that robbery Marsland, of Kirkgate, Shipley, had demanded money from Halifax cabbie Yasir Saddique after he had driven the defendant and another man to the Albert Parade area of the town.
Prosecutor Chloe Hudson said Marsland pulled out a 2ins long blade which he held close to the driver’s neck and Mr Saddique handed over about £90 in notes and loose change.
Marsland also snatched a “dummy camera” which had been fitted to the dashboard to deter an attack.
In his victim impact statement Mr Saddique said he had lost a lot of money because he had been too scared to work his usual hours after the robbery.
Although Mr Mohammed initially carried on working he felt nervous picking male passengers and eventually gave up being a taxi driver.
Marsland, who had served lengthy prison sentences in the past for car-jacking and attacks on other cabbies, pleaded guilty to two charges of robbery and also admitted assaulting two police officers during an incident in Halifax 13 months ago.
One of the officers was punched in the face and suffered damage to two of his teeth.
Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC jailed Marsland for seven years and two months on the robbery matters with an additional 10 months in prison for the assaults.
