
Teens robbed Uber delivery driver in Bradford on Christmas Eve
Two teenagers car-jacked an Uber delivery driver and fired an imitation handgun during a Christmas Eve robbery, a court has heard.The two boys, aged 15 and 16 at the time, demanded the driver's keys after confronting him in Bradford on the evening of 24 December 2023.The masked pair had lurked in an alleyway in the Bradford Road area while the victim dropped off a food delivery, before firing the pistol in his direction.The offenders, who cannot be named due to their ages, were each spared custody following a sentencing at Bradford Crown Court.
Prosecutor Philip Standfast said the victim had reported seeing one of the youths raise a gun and a spark flying from it, as something flew past him. He then handed over his keys and the teenagers got into the vehicle and drove off. A 9mm (0.3 inches) cartridge was later found at the scene and the car was found crashed on Clayton Road shortly after the robbery."The victim reported being very frightened by the incident and thought he might lose his life," Mr Standfast said.The court heard that DNA found on a sword in the damaged car linked it to the 15-year-old robber.
When that youth was later arrested, he was in possession of a black imitation handgun and ammunition, it was said.Mr Standfast said the weapon was a good visual copy of a Beretta pistol, but it was an imitation firearm.The court heard that neither teenager had any previous convictions and both of them had kept out of the trouble for the last 16 months.Barrister Fuad Arshad, for the 16-year-old, said his client had been "criminally exploited" by older offenders at the time, but he had now moved to another part of the country with his family.Mitigating for the 17-year-old, Jeremy Hill-Baker said his client had been "keeping his head down" since December 2023 and was working.
'He thought he might lose his life'
Both boys admitted offences of robbery and possession of an imitation firearm in a public place.The younger defendant also admitted a further charge of possession of an imitation firearm relating to his arrest and an offence of possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate.Judge Jonathan Gibson KC sentenced the 16-year-old to an 18-month youth rehabilitation order, which included requirements to attend weapons and victim awareness programmes.His older co-defendant received a 12-month referral order. Both were banned from contacting their victim for five years. Judge Gibson said: "At the time he clearly believed he had been fired at with a real gun and immediately passed over his car keys."He certainly thought at the time he might lose his life."
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Mother details ‘nightmare' after Trump sends son to El Salvador mega-prison where he's being held incommunicado
The last time Ydalis Chirinos Polanco heard from her 25-year-old son was on March 15, when he called her from the El Valle immigration detention center in Texas. He thought he was coming home to Venezuela. Instead, that same day, he was put on a plane to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador, a maximum-security facility for terrorists and gang members where he has been held incommunicado ever since. 'He left Venezuela for a better future and it turned into a nightmare,' Chirinos Polanco said through a translator in an interview with The Independent from her home in Valencia, Venezuela. She used to speak daily with her son. She hasn't heard from him in over 85 days. Being sent away so soon wasn't what Ysqueibel Peñaloza had hoped for when he arrived in the U.S. last September, passing legally through California's San Ysidro border crossing, after barely surviving a journey through the Darien Gap in the Panamanian jungle. The plan was to earn money to send back home, and he joined a friend in Raleigh, North Carolina. He found work as a gardener and Uber driver, according to his family and lawyer. (Uber said it did not have a record of Peñaloza working for the company.) Since he was a teenager, Peñaloza, who a past employer from Chile described as 'honorable and hardworking' in a support video, had worked to pay for his younger sister's education. His wages in America allowed him to send enough money back home to fund a semester of her training to be a physical therapist. The 25-year-old's temporary stint in the U.S. was cut short in February, when immigration agents detained him and his friend Arturo Suarez, a Venezuelan singer who uses the stage name Suarez Vzla, as they filmed a music video. Peñaloza had entered the U.S. legally, using the CBP One app, which allowed him to remain in the country temporarily as he awaited an April court date. But he and Suarez were among the more than 100 Venezuelans that the administration eventually accused of being members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, using the wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to summarily deport the men from the U.S. without letting them challenge their removals in court. Peñaloza's mother said her son has never had anything to do with a gang, and was too committed to his work to ever get into trouble. The Department of Homeland Security, for its part, told The Independent that Peñaloza was arrested during an operation 'targeting a known Tren de Aragua gang member,' which netted multiple arrests and a firearm. He was then 'confirmed to be' a member of the gang on March 15 — the same day Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act and the removal flights departed to El Salvador. The department declined to share the basis of this conclusion. 'We are confident in our law enforcement's intelligence, and we aren't going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one,' Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a statement to The Independent. 'That would be insane.' Chirinos Polanco only found out her son had been sent to CECOT when she spotted him in the slickly produced propaganda videos of the men being manhandled and shaved by prison guards at the facility in El Salvador, thanks to an olive branch tattoo on his right knee. He resurfaced again in May, in the background of a visit to the prison by Matt Gaetz, the former Trump administration attorney general nominee, who is now a host at OAN. In the prison, which has a $6 million deal with the U.S., Chirinos Polanco said she saw her son waving to the camera in what she interpreted as a hand signal for help. Around him, inmates jeered at Gaetz and cried 'Freedom!' in Spanish at the passing camera crew. 'He doesn't know that his family is fighting for him to get out,' Peñaloza's mother said, through tears. Chirinos Polanco worries about her son's state of mind inside CECOT, which was designed to house terrorists and is home to scores of admitted gang members that Salvadoran officials openly say will likely never be released. Prior to being sent to CECOT, the quiet 25-year-old told his mother he would sit and cry to himself for hours in immigration detention. She says she can only imagine what it's like now, since 'they have terrorized him in El Salvador.' The circumstances of his arrest — a sudden sweep of an immigrant who entered the U.S. legally, before a court process could play out, with little publicly presented evidence of gang membership, and baffled family members — have been common among the Venezuelans sent to CECOT under the Alien Enemies Act. U.S. immigration officials have insisted they conducted a rigorous vetting process to find the men's gang and other criminal affiliations. Internally, though, the Trump administration knew that just six of the 238 Venezuelans known to have been sent to CECOT had been convicted of violent crimes, while over half had no criminal record or pending charges at all outside of immigration violations, according to government data obtained by a coalition of U.S. and Venezuelan news outlets. (The government insisted, in response to the reporting, that the men in the data are 'actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gang members and more — they just don't have a rap sheet in the U.S.') Further confounding scrutiny, the government has not publicly released a list of those it sent to the prison, and has shared little public evidence of the men's alleged gang ties. As The Independent has reported, the federal government appears to have instead largely based its gang determinations on tattoos many of the men had, even though family members, tattoo artists who made the images, and experts on Venezuelan gangs say the tattoos don't symbolize membership in Tren de Aragua. The Department of Homeland Security told The Independent that 'its intelligence assessments go well beyond just gang affiliate tattoos and social media.' The entire process amounts to an egregious violation of due process, according to Margaret Cargioli, directing attorney for policy and advocacy at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, an advocacy group representing eight of the men inside CECOT, even though it can't communicate with them. 'What has been one of the most astonishing things is the utter disregard of human beings' due process and their human rights, due to being sent to a place where it was known they would be excommunicated from their families, attorneys, and loved ones, as well as have no access to justice,' Cargioli told The Independent. She said the government did not, and still hasn't, presented 'any evidence' in immigration court that Peñaloza was a gang member before sending him to CECOT. DHS Assistant Secretary McLaughlin added in her statement that the administration has a 'stringent law enforcement assessment in place that abides by due process under the US Constitution.' 'There IS due process for these terrorists who all have final deportation orders,' she wrote. Those challenging the Alien Enemies Act removals argue the men were removed without any meaningful notice, chance to challenge their status, or decision on final removal orders from an immigration judge, the typical deportation process. When asked, the White House did not answer specific questions about the evidence against Peñaloza or criticisms of the removal process to CECOT. 'President Trump is committed to keeping his promises to the American people and removing dangerous criminal and terrorist illegal aliens who pose a threat to the American public,' White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to The Independent. 'CECOT is one of the most secure facilities in the world and there is no better place for the sick criminals we are deporting from the United States.' Faced with this immigration black hole, mothers like Chirinos Polanco have taken on the role of activists. They have staged protests in Caracas, kept in touch with each other during regular meetings and calls, and shared money to support those who depended on their now-detained relatives for remittances. During the interview, Chirinos Polanco, in between sharing family photos, was preparing for a sit-in in front of a United Nations office in Caracas, the kind of demonstration staged by countless women living under repressive regimes in Latin America on behalf of their disappeared loved ones — only this time, the protest is directed at the world's most powerful democracy. Chirinos Polanco said the detentions weigh heavily on the families that they left behind. Her father can't bear to look at pictures of Peñaloza. One of the women she was in touch with, the grandmother of a man in CECOT, recently died of a heart attack in Perú, which her family attributes to the disappearances, Chirinos Polanco said. U.S. courts may offer these families a last chance to connect with their loved ones. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in May that the administration didn't give the alleged Tren de Aragua members the proper chance to contest their removals, and on Wednesday, a federal judge gave the government a week to explain how it would 'facilitate' giving these 137 men a chance at appeal. Such an unlikely reversal has some precedent. After months of public pressure, and a Supreme Court ruling that the U.S. must aid in his return, the U.S. retook custody of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran immigrant it admitted it had mistakenly sent to CECOT despite a court order barring his removal to El Salvador. The U.S. initially claimed it didn't have the power or the need to seek Garcia's return, though the government appears to have changed course, and the man now reportedly faces a federal grand jury indictment in the U.S. for allegedly illegally transporting undocumented immigrants. Chirinos Polanco hopes, with the world watching, the U.S. will finally give a fair hearing to the remaining men inside CECOT. 'We all should have the right to defend ourselves and be heard,' she said. 'Those Venezuelans who were sent to CECOT, they were silenced completely.' Until that silence is broken, Chirinos Polanco barely sleeps and often wakes up early. She's waiting for a phone call from her son that might never come.


Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Boulder 'terrorist' charged with 118 counts for 'anti-Zionist' flamethrower attack
Boulder authorities on Thursday formally filed 118 charges against terror suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who appeared shackled and wearing a zipped orange jumpsuit from a jailhouse courtroom before the district's chief judge. The charges include attempted murder, illegal use of incendiary devices, assault and cruelty to animals, with victims ranging in age from 25 to 88, as well as a dog. Soliman, 45, repeatedly nodded his head on Thursday to acknowledge he understood court proceedings. A preliminary hearing, which will feature witness testimony, was set for July 15. The suspect is being held in Boulder County Jail on $10million bond. He'd been charged earlier in the week with a federal hate crime. The Egyptian national and Uber driver was arrested Sunday after allegedly hurling homemade Molotov cocktails at a Boulder gathering in support of Hamas hostages being held in Gaza. According to his arrest affidavit, he'd been planning the attack for a year but waiting until his daughter graduated from high school - which happened days before he executed it. Soliman lived in Kuwait for 17 years before he moved to the US in 2022 but overstayed his visa and then a work permit, according to authorities. He'd worked briefly for a Denver-area health company but had been driving for Uber at the time of his arrest, the rideshare company confirmed to Daily Mail. Soliman had passed the company's eligibility requirements, which included a criminal background check, according to a spokesperson for Uber. The father of five had searched for 'Zionist' groups to target and zeroed in on the Boulder weekly event, driving up 100 miles from the home he shared in Colorado Springs with his wife and children, the arrest affidavit said. He brought with him materials for Molotov cocktails and flame-throwing devices, as well as clothing to disguise himself as a gardener, it continued. After Soliman's arrest, authorities swooped on his Colorado Springs home. Neighbors told Daily Mail he could often be seen playing outside with his children, and Soliman's wife was known for bringing food to other residents of the street. ICE and Homeland Security took Soliman's family into custody on Tuesday, though a Colorado judge has temporarily blocked their deportation. According to the affidavit, Soliman claimed he'd told no one about his plans for the attack, including his wife and children, and that he'd planned to die himself. Speaking after Soliman's court appearance, Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said that 'the charges reflect the evidence that we have regarding this horrific attack that took place and the seriousness of it. Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn then addressed security questions about the city's upcoming Jewish Festival, which begins less than a week after the attack. 'What people can expect coming there is enhanced security protocols, a very visible law enforcement presence,' he said. 'We are bringing in SWAT elements. We will have drones ... We'll likely have plainclothes people in the crowd, as well.


Wales Online
4 days ago
- Wales Online
Businessman fined for dropping a cigarette despite claiming he's not a smoker
Businessman fined for dropping a cigarette despite claiming he's not a smoker Abrar Ahmed was left with a substantial fine to pay Abrar Ahmed believes it's a case of alleged mistaken identity (Image: Supplied ) A father received a large fine after he was charged with dropping a cigarette in the street, which he claims wasn't his doing. Abrar Ahmed, from Crumpsall, received a letter from Manchester council in March telling him he owed £433 for littering on Devonshire Square, Ancoats. The businessman, who isn't a smoker and wasn't there, immediately challenged the fine with the town hall. It subsequently came to light that another person dropped the cigarette after a subject access request for the body-worn footage from the enforcement officer revealed it had been someone else. However, the fine has remained as when the case came before the Tameside Magistrates Court an appropriate interpreter was not provided, causing it to be adjourned, causing further distress to Mr Ahmed and his family. Mr Ahmed's brother-in-law, Zahor Hussain, who was speaking on his behalf, said: "His elder brother passed away from cancer in December, he's gone through absolute hell and back, as have the rest of our family. "This is not something he needs and he is at the end of his tether. Someone who is not a criminal, now has to go before the court. They are pursuing the wrong person." The body-worn footage shows the individual telling the enforcement officer that his name is 'Abrar Ahmed' and gives the same date of birth but an address in Bury. He says he is a taxi driver and is seen stepping out the driver's seat of an Uber. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here . Article continues below Mr Hussain continued: "He doesn't smoke, he is a business manager and runs a food manufacturing business. This person was a taxi driver, and had parked up near to the Uber office. "My brother-in-law has difficulties speaking English. This man is speaking English, they are speaking over each other. He gave the same name and date of birth as Abrar, but gave an address in Bury. "The letter then came here, to my brother-in-law's address. He has never lived in Bury. The man in the footage is not my brother in law." Due to the fine, Mr Ahmed has been struggling with his mental health. "We feel like we have gone to hell and back. We shouldn't have to do this," he said. Since the fine, the family have sent the investigations team evidence, including images of the footage and Mr Ahmed. "We are extremely anxious and have been left with mental anguish and distress. We don't know what to do," Mr Hussain said. The next hearing has been scheduled for June to officially withdraw the fine. Mr Hussain explained: "We are not getting anywhere and it feels like smashing my head against a brick wall. It is a wrongful conviction - clearly they are two different individuals. We are being passed from pillar to post. How is that justified?" A spokesperson from Manchester City Council said: "We have been made aware of a case of mistaken identity involving Mr Abrar Ahmed who was fined for littering a cigarette after another individual allegedly provided false details to an enforcement officer. "Mr Ahmed has since provided evidence that suggests he was not at fault and our investigation officers have reopened the case withdraw the fine as soon as possible through the courts. Article continues below "We want to sincerely apologise to Mr Ahmed and his family for the distress caused by this incident and investigations are ongoing to locate the real suspect." Uber has been approached for comment.