Mugger who pounced on man withdrawing cash from Walsall ATM on the way to work is jailed for three years
A jobless mugger has been jailed for pouncing on a man withdrawing his hard-earned money from a Walsall town-centre cash machine.
Hamid Ali, 28, barged his victim out of the way just as £20 was being dispensed from the TSB cashpoint in Darwell Street at 5.30am on July 26 last year.
The startled victim, who was on the way to work, followed Ali to demand his money back but stopped when the mugger began putting his arm in his jacket and gesturing to suggest he had a knife.
Ali, of Hatherton, Staffordshire, was serving a suspended sentence for threatening someone with a knife at the time. He pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced yesterday (Thursday) at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
Prosecuting, Laura Coton said: "The man noticed something over his right shoulder at the ATM. It was the defendant who barged him out of the way just as £20 was being dispensed. Startled, the victim remonstrated with the defendant, telling him he worked hard for the money and wanted it back.
