A teenager has been sentenced for his part in the robbery of a man in Slough last year.
Waqar Ali Khan, aged 18, of Court Farm Close, Slough, was found guilty of robbery on 30 June after a trial at Reading Crown Court. He was sentenced on 20 August to two years in a young offenders institution.
At about 9pm on Monday 12 October 2009, a 28-year-old man was cycling to a friend’s house in Baylis, Slough. He had ridden through Salt Hill Park and, as he entered an underpass leading to Woodland Avenue, he noticed a man standing in the middle of the tunnel with outstretched hands. The tunnel was dark and the cyclist slowed down to avoid the man, who was standing in his way.
When he was about five metres away from the man, the Slough cyclist was punched twice in the face by an unseen attacker and fell off his bike. While on the ground, he was punched and kicked by several people. He managed to get up, but one of the robbers threatened him with a handgun and demanded that he hand over his mobile phone. The attackers also stole the man’s rucksack and bicycle.
The cyclist, who sustained a broken nose, grazes and bruising, escaped from the Slough robbers and police were called.
While officers were searching the scene of the Slough robbery, they found a mobile phone that was ringing. They answered it and spoke to Waqar Khan, who said that he had lost his phone. Police made arrangements to meet him and he was arrested on 13 October on suspicion of robbery.
Following further investigations, Khan was charged on 17 December with robbery and possession of a firearm. He was found not guilty of the firearms offence.
Thames Valley Police ~ Bracknell
