Violent Asylum seeker who avoided prison four times finally jailed After Committing Another Horrible Crime

A violent asylum seeker who had avoided prison again and again with light punishments has finally been sent to jail, after being caught with a knife outside a migrant hotel. It was the fourth time in just nine months that he had appeared before the courts, and this time the magistrates decided enough was enough.

Shafi Abdi Momad, 30, has a long list of offences, including attacking a shop worker, spitting at a police officer, ignoring court orders, and repeatedly breaching the conditions meant to control his behaviour. Despite all of this, he had managed to stay out of custody until now.

Momad arrived in the UK in 2020 and was staying at the Roundhouse Hotel when the latest incident happened. In the early hours of December 7, police were called to a disturbance at the hotel. When officers arrived, Momad was aggressive and threatening. During the confrontation, he pulled a knife from his pocket and made a chilling remark to a police officer, saying he carried a knife and that when he killed someone, the police could then come for him.

After showing the blade, which was about 8cm long, he ran away from the scene. Police caught up with him shortly afterwards, and later found the knife hidden under leaves nearby. He admitted to having a bladed article in a public place and was sentenced to five and a half months in prison.

This was not the first time Momad had shocked the court. Just months earlier, in September, he appeared before magistrates after spitting at a police officer during a drunken incident at the same hotel. On that occasion, he had drunk half a bottle of vodka along with several beers and was described as being in a very angry state. Several officers were needed to restrain him, and one officer had spit land on his hand when Momad deliberately tried to spit at him.

Even though he pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker, he was not sent to prison. Instead, he received a 12-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay just £50 in compensation.

Earlier in the year, in March, Momad was also in court for attacking a shop worker in South London. While drunk, he racially abused the shopkeeper, Ben Velayunthapillai, tried to take money from the till after being refused alcohol, and then punched the worker in the face. Despite the seriousness of the attack, he was again spared jail after the court was told he would struggle to cope in custody. He was given a community order, told to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, and fined £25.

By June, he was back before magistrates yet again after failing to follow that community order. He did not attend his unpaid work sessions and missed a supervision appointment. The court cancelled the original order and sentenced him to six weeks in prison, but even then the sentence was suspended for 12 months, allowing him to walk free once more.

That suspended sentence has now been activated because of his latest knife offence. The case was heard at Poole Magistrates’ Court, where magistrates finally decided that repeated chances had achieved nothing.

The hotel where Momad was staying is one of several in Bournemouth that have been used to house asylum seekers, a decision that has angered many local residents. In one nearby street, two hotels were converted into migrant accommodation, and there have since been dozens of criminal charges involving people staying there.

After years of warnings, suspended sentences, and failed community orders, Momad’s latest offence has finally resulted in real jail time, bringing an end to a pattern of repeated leniency that had allowed him to stay on the streets despite his violent behaviour.