PRESS RELEASE : Violent robbers ordered to serve longer in prison [November 2023]
The press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office on 13 November 2023.
Three men with a history of violence who robbed a man in a Bristol takeaway have their prison sentences increased after the Solicitor General intervened.
Jack Walker, of Yate, Abdifatah Sharif, of Easton, and Billy Madden, of Hartcliffe, saw their sentences increase after the Solicitor General referred their sentences to the Court of Appeal as being unduly lenient.
The court heard that on 18 February 2023, the three men entered a takeaway on Stockton Croft with their faces hidden. The trio approached a man demanding the keys to his car before violently attacking him.
They repeatedly punched the victim in the face and head before Jack Walker threatened him with a large machete. The men left the takeaway with the victim’s bag, which contained £3,000, €400, his passport, a silver ring, and a pair of sunglasses.
Thirty minutes later, Walker targeted a second victim, who was riding an electric scooter. Walker punched the victim in the face and threatened to stab him before taking the victim’s bag and scooter worth £600.
The Solicitor General, Michael Tomlinson KC MP, said:
The level of violence and brutality used by these men in this case was particularly heinous.
The courts have quite rightfully increased their sentences and I hope it send a clear message that we will pursue violent offenders through the court to protect the public from harm.
Walker, Sharif and Madden were sentenced on 18 August 2023 at Bristol Crown Court after pleading guilty
Walker was sentenced to 20-month’s imprisonment for two counts of robbery and one count of possessing a bladed article. Sharif was sentenced to 26 months’ imprisonment for one robbery offences and possession of class A drugs. Madden was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment for one offence of robbery.
On Friday 10 November, the Court of Appeal increased Walker’s sentence to five years imprisonment, Sharif’s to three years and four months imprisonment and Madden’s to two years and 10 months imprisonment.
The trio’s sentences were referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
