Armed robber jailed for three years after stealing £50 and threatening to kill taxi driver's family
An armed robber who threatened to kill the family of a terrified cabbie and stole £50 in cash has been jailed for three years.
George Longstaff has been jailed after threatening to kill the taxi driver’s family during a shocking violent robbery in Gateshead earlier this year.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how the former soldier was chatty and friendly when he got into the Blue Line taxi on Sunderland Road in the early hours of 20 February. He used a false name and told the driver he needed to visit a cash point to pay his £5.60 fare to another address in the borough.
But when he got to the destination he pulled out a knife and told the terrified cabbie "I will kill your family if you don't give me the money".
He handed over £50 and Longstaff fled the area on foot. Police were called and immediately launched an investigation to identify the thief.
They searched their system for the phone number used to book the taxi and found that it had been recorded as belonging to Longstaff.
Officers visited his last known address where they found the 24-year-old wearing the same clothes as those worn by the offender.
His phone was seized and, not only was it the same number used to book the taxi, but the booking confirmation was still saved in his messages.
Police also found he was already on an electronic tag and when they checked his GPS data they found that he had indeed been in the taxi at the time.
Longstaff was arrested and later charged with robbery. He pleaded guilty at court and on Tuesday he was jailed for three years.
Sergeant Victoria Karaniauskaite led the investigation for Northumbria Police and praised the teamwork of officers to identify Longstaff as the offender.
She said: “When we first received the report we had very little information to go off as the phone number in question was not registered to an individual.
“We knew that it could have been connected to a known offender so trawled our police database and found that it had also been used in a previous incident.
“On that occasion it had been associated to George Longstaff and so we immediately launched a manhunt and found him at a nearby address.
“We had been able to gather enough evidence to gain access to the GPS data on his electronic tag and that confirmed that he was the offender.
“It is satisfying to know that our hard work had led to a prolific thief being put back behind bars and we hope our efforts reassure our communities.
“We also want to thank the taxi driver for supporting our investigation. He showed immense bravery and thanks to his help a violent offender is now off the street.”
Longstaff, who has 38 previous convictions, will now begin his custodial sentence.
