An Indian Man in Leicester was arrested after he tried to rob a jewelry store by wearing a burqa, according to the shop workers, he tried to threaten them with a sharp knife, he has been sentenced to be in jail for at least 4 years.
The Indian Man has been identified as Imtiaz Patel who is 42-years-old, he was found guilty by the Leicester Crown Court on Monday, he has been sentenced to 4 yours of imprisonment for the crime of robbery and 9-month imprisonment concurrent imprisonment for carrying a weapon.
42-year-old Imtiaz Patel also got 2 months of additional time in prison for breaking one community order.
Detective Constable Anna Thorpe of the Leicestershire Police said: “It was thanks to the quick-thinking and excellent response of the officers on patrol that Patel was detained so quickly. Their actions of catching Patel as he left the scene of the crime left him with no choice but to admit the offense.”
The witnesses told the court how 42-year-old Imtiaz Patel came inside the store while wearing a burqa and also covered his face with a scarf, after entering the jewelry store that is located in the Haymarket area, he started to look at a Rolex watch that costs about 7000 pounds, the staff started to have doubts against him as he started to act weird.
42-year-old Imtiaz Patel requested the staff to bring out another watch, but his request was denied by the staff as he still had the other watch in his possession and asked him to give it back to them first. Instead of doing what the staff asked, he decided to bring out his knife and started to make threats to the staff, particularly to the staff member who was standing near the door.
A PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) and a constable were near the area as they were on their routine patrol when they saw 42-year-old Imtiaz Patel running near the Church Gate in Leicester. 42-year-old Imtiaz Patel got their attention and they decided to follow him, they also saw the expensive watch in his hand before they detained him and did a search.
The knife that was used by 42-year-old Imtiaz Patel was also recovered near the shop and was given to the authorities as a piece of evidence in the crime he committed. The police did more investigation and recovered CCTV footages which led them to charge 42-year-old Imtiaz Patel on the same day of the crime he committed.
Detective Constable Anna Thorpe of the Leicestershire Police added: “I’d like to thank the victims of this offense for being fully co-operative with our investigation following what must have been a terrifying incident. Patel showed no concern for anyone else when he carried out this crime and the consequences of his actions could have been far worse.”