After his attempt to set a pub ablaze resulted in a series of blunders, bungling Amir Ali has positioned himself as a candidate for Britain’s dumbest criminal of the year.
The unfortunate Ali, 28, was caught on CCTV scheming to petrol bomb a pub, but he had to avoid two bricks he threw at the door when they bounced back harmlessly against the glass.
The clumsy fool then remained frozen in place as an accomplice ignited a firebomb and threw it at the door, which again rebounded and exploded in Ali’s face.
With the bomb detonating around him in a fireball, he fled up the street, momentarily blinded by the flash, and collided straight with a lamppost, landing flat on his back.
Officers reviewing the CCTV footage admitted to having fits of laughter as they witnessed him bounce back up like a slapstick comedian before scurrying off again in pursuit of his sidekick.
To make matters worse, the father-of-two from Crouch End, North London, who had opened a gash on his head from hitting the lamppost, also suffered singed hair in the process.
Shakily, he stumbled into a nearby medical drop-in center seeking treatment, where police apprehended him within minutes, handcuffed him, and escorted him back to the station.
When he had his mugshot taken at the cells, the plaster that a nurse had placed on his head remained clearly visible.
He pleaded not guilty to attempted arson but was sentenced to eight years at Brighton Crown Court yesterday.
The licensee of the Imperial Arms in Crawley, Sussex, was roused by the noise below and went downstairs to discover cracked windows at the front door and two bricks on the doorstep.
The petrol bomb was still smoldering due to a failed ignition attempt.
The initial trial in June fell through after police misplaced crucial CCTV evidence, but Ali was convicted in a second trial in August, with sentencing deferred for further reports.
In sentencing, Recorder John Hardy QC remarked that Ali’s crime was at the upper end of the severity scale, even though his incompetence had fortunately led to its failure.
He commented: “You became involved in a calculated attack that was part of a campaign of violence and intimidation by local drug lords against the licensees of this pub.”
The court learned that the landlord was asleep upstairs when the “amateurish and comical” attack transpired at 3.30 am on May 28, 2008, all captured on CCTV.
Recorder Hardy stated, “Had you succeeded and the pub caught fire, the damage inflicted on it and the nearby buildings would have been enormous, with an obvious risk to life.”
Detective Constable Craig Allan later remarked, “This was a lengthy and difficult investigation during which the defendant persistently denied any involvement.
“However, we gradually managed to piece it all together, and the sentence reflects the judiciary’s serious attitude towards this type of conduct.”
The second man remains unidentified, and Sussex Police are requesting anyone with information to come forward.
by John Jackson