Thugs who filmed themselves viciously assaulting a shop worker at an Esso forecourt and uploaded it to Snapchat, have been brought to justice.
The incident happened at Wellington Road South in Stockport in July 2021.
In the early hours of one morning that month, a group of young men walked onto the Esso forecourt and started behaving threateningly. They forced the shop door open and charged towards the shop assistant. The group violently assaulted the man – punching and stomping on him and throwing shop furniture at him. His injuries required medical treatment.
Greater Manchester Police said the gang had earlier stolen vapes from the store, but one of them had left his mobile phone at the scene, and so they returned to get it, which is when they carried out the violent assault.
The gang then fled the scene having also caused excessive damage to the till area of the store and stealing £600-worth of stock.
The whole incident was filmed on Snapchat. Greater Manchester Police later accessed the film, which was cross-referenced with CCTV and used as evidence against the men.
Earlier this week at Minshull Street Crown Court, Kausar Amin was sentenced to two years in prison for the robbery and assault.
Two others, both 19-year-old men from Oldham, were given suspended sentences. In addition, Bradley Maphosa of Salford was sent to a young offenders institute for two years.
Detective Constable Lucy Williams said:“After our detailed investigation into this incident, I’m glad we’ve managed to bring those people who took part in the unprovoked attack on a shop worker to justice.
“Their actions on that day were completely out of order and fuelled by rage over a minor incident where they went out with the intent to steal and ultimately cause harm.
“Hopefully, this will send a reminder to those who want to break the law that this will be not tolerated and provide some reassurance to shop workers that your safety and protection is important to us.
“We are determined to keep our local community safe from these kinds of incidents.
“The bravery of the victim and the support received was crucial to getting this result and I would also like to thank the public who helped us during our appeal process. The evidence gathered did help us bring these people in front of the courts and make sure they had to answer for their actions.”
