Man jailed for two student robberies in Sheffield

Hassan Salim, 21, robbed his first victim, a 19-year-old man, on July 8, 2021.

The student was walking home from a night out when, on Bolsover Street, Salim pulled up next to him in a vehicle.

He asked if the student wanted to buy some drugs and when he refused, became aggressive and threatened him to get into the car.

The student was then taken to a cashpoint, where he was again threatened and told to withdraw a sum of money.

Salim struck again a few days later, when a 22-year-old man was walking with friends close to the Botanical Gardens.

He stopped to tie his shoelace and his friends walked on ahead, when a vehicle approached.

Believing the vehicle to be a misdirected taxi, the victim spoke to the occupants, one of whom was Salim. He was threatened with a knife and made to get in the car.

The occupants were demanding money, forcing the victim to hand over his mobile phone, before driving around the Upperthorpe, Bramall Lane and London Road areas for about 45 minutes. Salim let the victim out of the car on London Road and gave him back his phone.

Noticing his banking app had been deleted, he redownloaded it and found that Salim had transferred significant sums of money into another bank account in an alias’ name.

Detective Constable Susan Fox, who investigated the robberies, said: “Each victim’s account provided some crucial evidence that allowed us to identify Salim as our primary suspect – one was able to describe Salim’s vehicle, the other provided bank details from his phone that could be traced to Salim, and both gave us the alias name that Salim was using.

“Through their testimony, CCTV and financial enquiries, Salim was identified, arrested and charged.

“Salim’s victims were understandably incredibly afraid for their safety, as a result of his threatening and intimidating behaviour. He made both men get into his vehicle before demanding money, which must have been a terrifying experience for them.

“I am pleased that Salim pleaded guilty to the charges put before him in court and is now behind bars. He has also been ordered to pay his victims compensation in recognition of the money he stole from each of them.”

Salim, formerly of Sicey Avenue, Sheffield, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday August 9.

He was sentenced to six years and three months for one robbery, and five years and four months for the second count of robbery, to run concurrently.