3 days ago
Thug fired BB gun at taxi and smashed window after 20p dispute with driver over fare
A taxi driver said he 'shouldn't be shot at' while trying to work to feed his family after a thug repeatedly fired a BB gun at his vehicle during a terrifying incident.
Liam Blackburn took offense at being asked to pay £3.70 upfront for his taxi journey in Thorntree and said it should only be £3.50. His anger spiralled and he hurled abuse at the driver before firing a BB gun at his taxi - which saw one window shatter as the dad tried to escape.
Years later, the 22-year-old wielded a machete at the Sporting Lodge Inns Hotel, in Low Lane, Stainton, in September 2024. This was weeks before his fingerprints were found on a loaded and ready to fire shotgun found upon his arrest.
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Sam Faulks, prosecuting, said, in February 2022, Blackburn got into a taxi and was asked by the driver to pay up front, in line with the firm's policy. He began arguing it should be £3.50 - 20p below the fare requested by the victim.
He handed him £10 but as he tried to sort his change Blackburn told the driver to drive, said Mr Faulks. "He called him a c*** and threatened to smash him in".
Blackburn got out of the car, leaving the door open, so the driver got out to close it. He was then "racially abused by a number of women in the street" before Blackburn appeared with a "small black glock type handgun" and began firing it at the taxi.
It was an air weapon handgun but Teesside Crown Court heard that as the victim drove away one of the windows shattered. The passenger side window had a "clear hole in it".
Police were called and armed officers attended the house. The victim said: "The incident has left me feeling very shocked and very sad... I am a father and a husband and I go to work to provide a service for the public... I should not be shot at."
The damage to the car cost £400. While on police bail, on September 29, 2024, Blackburn and another person arrived at the rear of the Sporting Lodge Inn Hotel, in Stainton, in a taxi. Blackburn emerged with a large machete and they went into the rear of the bar area.
"He reappeared follow by the assailant who was carrying a bag. People in the bar would not engage with police," Mr Faulks said. But Blackburn was identified by an officer from CCTV footage.
"On October 24, he was at his father's address in Stockton. Armed police officers attended to arrest him," said Mr Faulks. Officers found a bag in the garden which had inside a sawn off shotgun which was "loaded and ready to fire".
Analysis showed Blackburn's fingerprints were among those on the gun and he was charged with conspiracy to possess a firearm - prohibited weapon.
Rod Hunt, mitigating, said the death of Blackburn's mother was "completely devastating" in his family life and the now 22-year-old found himself looking for "guidance and acceptance in the wrong places" which has been "seized upon by others".
"This defendant is still only 22. He is still a work in progress. He is going, now, in the right direction," said Mr Hunt. Blackburn, of Roworth Road, Thorntree, admitted possess an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, criminal damage, a section 4 public order offence, conspiracy to possess a firearm, and possession of a knife blade article in a public place.
Blackburn was jailed for five years and was made subject to a criminal behaviour order upon his release. This will prevent him from associating with named individuals and attending "well known hotbeds of drug dealing and weapon offences".
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