Yahoo News Bungling armed robber caught by police after leaving his CV at the crime scene
An armed robber who raided a bookies in Birmingham was easily caught by police – after he left his CV behind at the scene.
Dopey Umar Mirza, 26, decided to rob the Paddy Power shop after he failed to get a job there and made off with £17,000.
He walked into the branch on Hurst Street in Birmingham at 8.25am on March 27 wearing a hood and a mask and demanded cash after producing a black gun.
But officers were able to track down the crook because he had left his CV with the boss of the shop – which contained all his personal details.
Mirza had removed his disguise as he was leaving the store meaning management were easily able to identify the jobhunter on CCTV and passed his information to officers.
A court heard police later recovered a betting slip at his home, on which the gambling addict had written “I have got a gun, open the door or I will shoot you.”
Mirza, of Aston, Birmingham, previously admitted robbery and possessing an imitation firearm and was jailed for six years at Birmingham Crown Court.
Prosecutor Rob Cowley said police were able to simply identify Mirza as the robber using the details on the CV.
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He said he had burst into the store and demanded a female worker open the safe, then made her fill a carrier bag with £16,700 in notes, £360 in coins and also £200 taken from the till.
When officers searched Mirza’s home they found an imitation firearm, the carrier bag the threatening note written on a betting slip.
Mirza had also been present when another man, Usman Shahmaun, 22, used the same weapon to try to rob a Paddy Power in the Washwood Heath area on April 29.
On that occasion a brave manager had activated an alarm, filling the premises with smoke. Armed police arrived quickly and Shahmaun was arrested nearby.
Shahmaun, of Ward End, Birmingham, was sentenced to three years and four months after pleading guilty to attempted robbery, possessing an imitation firearm and a knife.
Devon Small, defending Mirza, said: “He had a long-standing gambling addiction which had been going on for three or four years.
“He had developed an obsession with online gambling.”
He said Mirza, who had worked as a forklift truck driver, had been allowed to run up a £22,000 debt with one firm of bookies over an 11-month period, and owed another £2,000.
