A robber who threatened to stab a woman has been jailed after a good samaritan stepped in and Police then promptly arrested the car key thief.
Lee Asbury grabbed the woman and snatched her keys as she returned to her Hyundai Getz in Farnborough Road, Castle Vale, on the evening of 21 July this year.
He tried to push her out the way but as the woman in her 20s screamed, a man who has still not been identified, went across to intervene and Asbury threw her back the keys.
Officers rushed to the scene and another witness had tracked Asbury to nearby street and seen him discard three knives in a bush. Asbury was promptly arrested and the items were recovered.
The 31-year-old, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to robbery and knife possession and was jailed for four years at Birmingham Crown Court today (20 August).
DC Claire Smith, from force CID, said: “The woman was understandably left shaken by the ordeal, but fortunately the good samaritan stepped in. We still don’t know who he was, but his intervention was vital.
“We were able to arrest Asbury in under an hour and secured strong evidence against him. It led to his guilty plea and being put behind bars.”