Bicycle thief Levi Martin of Lincoln threatened to stab the boy

A man who robbed a 16-year-old boy of his £4,500 electric bike after threatening to stab him has been jailed.

Levi Martin, 19, of Newark Road, Lincoln, took the youngster’s bicycle from the Lincoln High Street level crossing on July 13.

He had warned the boy: ‘Give me that bicycle, otherwise I will stab you.’

Martin admitted the theft at Lincoln Crown Court and was sentenced to three years in a young offenders institution.

Martin was among a group of youths who approached the victim and his friend at around 6.45pm BST.

Prosecutor Noel Philo said Martin, who asked the boy for drugs, grabbed the ignition keys and ordered him off the bike.

Mr Philo said the victim did not see a knife but thought it was there and felt scared.

The lawyer told the court that some of the victim’s friends took photos of the robber and tried to chase him, but were warned: “If you keep following me, I will stab you – you don’t know what I will do or what I I’m busy.”

In a statement read out to the court, the victim described how he was now afraid to go outside in case he was robbed again.

“It makes me feel very depressed mentally and physically because I can no longer go to the gym,” he said.

In mitigation, Tom Heath said his client had had a difficult childhood but accepted it was a very unpleasant offence.

“No knife was actually produced by him and the incident was quite short lived,” he said.

The court heard Martin’s crime was aggravated by his previous convictions for robbery, affray and causing grievous bodily harm.

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