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Jailed man, 81, acted as getaway driver because he felt 'isolated'

Ian Hemmens' lawyer says the retiree got involved because he "likes talking to people".

Ian Hemmens, 81, &#39;likes talking to people&#39; and had felt &#39;isolated&#39;
Image: Ian Hemmens, 81, 'likes talking to people' and had felt 'isolated'
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An 81-year-old man who acted as a getaway driver for a violent drug dealer because he felt "isolated" has been jailed.

Ian Hemmens, a retired burger van driver from Chichester, West Sussex, helped the county lines dealer to escape the scene of a knife attack.

The retiree was sentenced to nine months in prison at Portsmouth Crown Court after being found guilty of assisting an offender, alleged to be Mahamud Sami, who has fled the country to Bahrain.

Hemmens drove Sami and his co-drug dealer, Akeem Adebayo, 23, from Chichester to Bognor Regis in his green Citroen C3 on 10 March.

The court heard Sami and Adebayo had been involved in the stabbing of rival "drug dealer" Dimitrijs Semelis, who was left with life-threatening injuries.

Amy Packham, prosecuting, said a dispute had broken out which led to Sami and Adebayo chasing Mr Semelis while families with young children were nearby.

Adebayo then held Mr Semelis on the ground, shouting "just f****** stab him" as Sami stabbed the victim five or six times, Ms Packham said.

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The victim was left with a "potentially fatal" punctured lung and was "lucky he was treated so quickly and successfully".

Ms Packham said Sami had been in contact with Hemmens, who arranged to pick him up in his car.

A judge said Ian Hemmens would have been aware of the situation
Image: A judge said Hemmens would have been aware of the situation

She said: "He was seen to sprint to the car, jumped in the back of the car and disappeared into the footwell.

"The assisting the offender was effective, it not only took Mr Sami from the scene and prevented his arrest, it then allowed Mr Sami to leave the Chichester area and then the country."

Judge Hetherington told Hemmens: "You assisted an offender by driving him away from the scene when you knew he must have been involved in a serious assault, you saw blood on him and you undoubtedly knew that he had been involved in drug dealing.

"But your involvement was considerably more than this one journey, you made several journeys on that day and on the night before, you would have been aware that you were being used as a driver whose age and appearance would have been unlikely to draw attention."

Mark Kessler, defending Hemmens, said: "It's unusual to find a man of Mr Hemmens' background should be in court at his age for a matter of this nature, it's very strange indeed."

He said his client's "isolation" had led to his involvement, explaining: "The defendant admits that he likes talking to people and that is why it has come about."

Sami has not been caught and his last whereabouts are believed to be in Bahrain.

His co-defendant Adebayo, of Colindale, London, was jailed for nine years for wounding with intent and two further drugs charges.