Mamadou Bah, 19, of no fixed address, was sentenced to three years in prison at Warwick Crown Court for a violent robbery that occurred in the early hours of December 20. Bah followed a man off a London Underground train and stole his gold necklace, an incident captured on CCTV and investigated by British Transport Police.
Incident on the Central line
At 4.30am, Bah was travelling on a Central line train when he noticed another man asleep in the carriage, wearing a gold chain necklace. As the man woke and got off at Chancery Lane station, Bah followed him.
Bah then grabbed the man's collar from behind, attempting to tear the gold necklace from his neck. The victim fought back, but Bah managed to pull the chain off, breaking the clasp in the process.
Victim's restraint and arrest
The victim refused to let Bah leave and restrained him near the station's escalators. Station staff called police, who arrived and separated the pair. A search of Bah found two gold chains, including the one taken from the victim.
The stolen chain was promptly returned, and Bah was arrested and taken into custody. During police interview, Bah claimed he was fighting the victim in self-defence. However, when shown footage of himself grabbing the chain, Bah remained silent and refused to answer further questions.
Guilty plea and sentencing
Bah was later charged and pleaded guilty in July this year. Detective Constable Annika Liparoti of British Transport Police said: "I'm very pleased with the result in this case. Bah thought that he had spotted an easy pay day, but he will instead enjoy an extended stay behind bars as a consequence of his actions."
Liparoti added: "Our officers work tirelessly across the railway network throughout the year to detect and deter robbery offences, utilising plain clothes assets in combination with uniformed patrols to catch offenders and secure justice for victims as we did in this case."
She urged anyone who is a victim of or witness to a robbery to report it to British Transport Police by texting 61016 or speaking to a member of staff, saying: "We'll do everything that we can to secure justice for you, as we did for the victim in this case."
