'I'm not going back in no cell... I'm a free man'

A thug who launched a terrifying attack on a car in broad daylight shouted out to family members in court 'I'm a free man' after being told he would be released from prison.

Yousaf Rehman, 23, was one of a group of five who attacked the BMW in Longsight in April last year. In mobile phone footage recorded by the driver, the group jumped out of two separate cars and began to damage the windscreen and sides of the car. Some were wearing balaclavas, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Fortunately the driver was able to escape without injury. At a sentencing hearing today (Friday, November 22), Rehman and another of the men, 19-year-old Amaan Aftab, were hauled into the dock for their involvement. Both previously pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

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Rehman had been in custody since the offence and as a judge deemed his sentence was ‘time served’. He was told he would be released from prison. As he was escorted from the dock, he shouted: “I’m not going back in no cell, I’m a free man."

Two others, brothers Mohammed Aslam and Dawood Aslam, will be sentenced for their involvement later this year. The court heard a man was driving his BMW towards Longsight at around 7.30pm when he noticed he was being followed by a blue Ford Fiesta. The car then overtook him before breaking suddenly causing him to stop.

“Three males got out of the vehicle, including Mr Rehman and the Aslam brothers, and they began attacking the car, namely punching and kicking the bonnet and bumpers,” prosecutor Robert Smith said.

The man managed to drive away, but he was followed by the Fiesta. He pulled over near to his house, at which he was approached by Mohammed Aslam who was screaming and shouting at him to ‘get out of the car’.

The man told him to ‘f*** off’ before a red Ford Fiesta, carrying Aftab and another male, pulled up and blocked him off. Two men approached him, one carrying a knife and the other, a machete.

They then began to attack the car, smashing the windscreen and denting the sides and body work. The man, who filmed the incident on his mobile phone, was able to drive away.

The court heard Rehman had been caught over a year earlier in a stolen car. When officers investigated, they found a blue box containing cannabis and ketamine, as well as a burner phone.

As he has been in prison since April last year, the sentencing judge indicated that he would pass a sentence that would mean he had already served any custodial term. No mitigation was heard on his behalf.

For Aftab, the judge said that due to his young age and lack of previous convictions, he would pass a suspended sentence, and so no mitigation was heard.

Sentencing them, Judge John Potter said: “You had a grievance with this man. You drove past him shouting abuse and making threats towards him. He believed you had left him alone but he was wrong.

“You had gone to obtain others and armed yourselves with weapons as a group. Mr Rehman and the two Aslam brothers were in one vehicle, Mr Aftab and another male were in the other. The car was attacked.”

Rehman, of Bournelea Avenue, Burnage, was jailed for 32 months, though will be released immediately as he had already served his sentence in custody. He was also banned from driving for 12 months.

Aftab, of Wellington Road North, Heaton Chapel, was sentenced to 19 months imprisonment which was suspended for two years. He must also complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity requirements and 250 hours unpaid work.

Mohammed Islam, 22, of Crofton Street, Rusholme. Dawood Aslam, 20, of Crofton Street, Rusholme, will be sentenced on December 18.