Man held victim at knife point during late night robbery

The 20-year-old man committed the crime alongside two teenagers

A man who held another man at knife point while robbing him has been jailed. Hiwa Azari, 20, and two other teenage boys blocked the path of a man who was riding an e-scooter in the Foundry Walk underpass, near the Lido swimming pool in Peterborough, at around 11pm on August 5, 2024.

The group surrounded the man and grabbed the scooter handlebars. One of them then pulled out a kitchen knife and pointed it at the victim’s stomach, ordering him to walk away.

The three took the scooter and hid it nearby. Some time later, Cambridgeshire Police were told about a second robbery at around 12.20am on August 6. A 20-year-old man was approached by the trio in Cowgate and told to hand over his phone.

When the man refused, one of the group flashed a kitchen knife that was at the front of his trousers, while another tried to remove a gold chain from the man’s neck.

The victim was put into a headlock and repeatedly punched and kicked, but he managed to defend himself and flee. Descriptions of the offenders were passed to CCTV operators who spotted them walking along Bridge Street towards Cathedral Square.

With the help of police dog Ghost, the group was stopped and arrested. Azari, of Huntly Road, Peterborough, admitted robbery, attempted robbery and being in possession of a knife in a public place.

Last Wednesday (July 1) at Cambridge Crown Court, he was jailed for 42 months. The two boys, one from Newcastle and the other from Essex, were handed youth rehabilitation orders in September last year, having admitted the same charges. They were 15 at the time of the offences.

Detective Constable Megan Sims, who investigated, said: “Thankfully no one was seriously injured in these incidents, however, we know knife crime can have devastating effects. I would urge anyone who has information about someone who carries a weapon to report it to police.”