HIGH tech fingerprint technology has brought a man to justice – eight years after a pensioner was assaulted during a raid on a Lichfield petrol station.
Waheed Zaman, aged 26, of Erdington, Birmingham, was given 120 hours community service and ordered to pay £250 costs by a judge at Stafford Crown Court after admitting conspiracy to steal.
Zaman had evaded justice for the offence since August 2000 when cigarettes and telephone cards were stolen during a raid at the garage in Birmingham Road, Lichfield.
The 65-year old garage attendant was assaulted during the incident which involved a total of three offenders.
At the time, police recovered part of a fingerprint from a cigarette packet left at the scene.
But it wasn’t until Zaman was arrested and fingerprinted in 2006 in the West Midlands, that police, using cutting edge laser powered fingerprint technology known as “LiveScan”, were able to match them up.
Afterwards, the officer who led the investigation, Sergeant Tony Parker, said the case proved there was no hiding place for criminals.
“This individual thought he had got away with it but the determination of police, and the use of the latest fingerprint technology, ensured be was brought to justice.
“This was a frightening incident for the elderly victim who was doing a job he loved to make a bit of pin money and, sadly, he has never fully recovered.
“For his sake, and for everyone who supported him at the time and since, I am pleased justice has been done.”
Sergeant Parker said the case showed the determination of police and the Crown Prosecution Service to bring offenders to justice no matter how long it took.
