Robber left Leeds chip-shop staff terrified as he demanded: 'Open the f****** till'
A robber who burst into a chip shop and demanded cash was later identified from CCTV from a McDonald’s across the street.
Rizwan Mahroof got away with £250 in notes from the Portside shop on Kirkstall Road which left three female members of staff terrified.
The 30-year-old was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week after admitting the robbery. He was also in breach of a suspended sentence for assault on an emergency worker.
The court heard that Mahroof had entered the shop at around 6.50pm on April 2 this year. Only one other customer was in at the time before they collected their order and left.
Mahroof began swearing and the worker behind the counter retreated in fear as he shouted: “Open the f****** till.”
She went into the back room of the shop where the other two workers were, but Mahroof followed.
He ordered one to get off her phone, and walked up to the woman from behind the counter and said: “Open the f****** till now you stupid b****.”
Terrified, she did as he said and he grabbed the notes and threw the coins against the wall, before leaving.
He was seen leaving in the direction of Leeds city centre, prosecutor Oishee Dey told the court.
During the subsequent investigation, police were able to secure CCTV footage from outside the McDonald’s restaurant on the opposite side of the road that showed Mahroof leaving the area.
He was recognised and arrested 12 days later. He gave a no-comment interview.
Mahroof, of no fixed address, appeared in court this week via video link from HMP Leeds, where he was being held on remand.
He has five previous convictions for 10 offences, including previous robberies for which he received 21 months and 69 months’ jail.
He had only been given his three-month suspended sentence for assaulting an emergency worker weeks before the chip-shop robbery.
Mitigating, Rukhshanda Hussain said Mahroof’s early guilty plea was perhaps his best point.
She said there was little planning, that it was “somewhat impulsive” and despite it being “incredibly frightening” for staff, it was not prolonged and was over within a matter of minutes.
She said he did not work and had an “intellectual disability”, meaning he was easily manipulated.
Judge Andrew Stubbs KC told Mahroof: “You are amassing a serious list of convictions. Your previous convictions are a serious mitigating factor.
“You were aggressive and they [the staff] were scared.”
He jailed him for 20 months, and activated the three-month suspended sentence in full, making a total of 23 months.