A man has been jailed for three years after he viciously attacked and robbed a man at Victoria Underground station, before assaulting a police officer who tried to arrest him.
Alistair Rutherford, 45, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to robbery and assaulting an emergency service worker at Central Criminal Court on 16 May. He was sentenced to three years in prison at Inner London Crown Court on 16 June. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228.
The court heard that on 3 April 2025, just before 9pm, Rutherford approached a man standing outside Victoria Underground station and kicked him in the face without warning, knocking him to the ground. As the victim got back to his feet, Rutherford kicked him again several times in the head, chest, and back. He then took the victim’s bag from the floor and removed headphones from around the victim’s neck.
Rutherford fled the scene. The victim reported the attack to station staff, who called British Transport Police.
Officers arrived soon after and began searching for Rutherford. He was seen walking through a foot tunnel into the station and tried to run away, but officers chased and detained him. Rutherford was found with the victim’s bag and headphones.
While being arrested, he struggled with officers and headbutted one of them before being taken into custody.
Detective Constable Victoria Price said: “I’m extremely pleased with the result in this case. Rutherford acted with extreme and unprovoked violence for his own personal gain, before again striking out at our officers. We do not tolerate violence of any kind on the railway network, whether it be aimed towards passengers or towards our officers as they carry out their duties.
“I want to thank the victim for bravely and quickly reporting the incident to staff, meaning officers could immediately begin to carry out a search of the area that resulted in Rutherford being identified and arrested shortly afterwards. We do not tolerate robbery on the network, and will continue to bring offenders to justice.”
Anyone who is victim to or witnesses a robbery on the railway network is asked to contact British Transport Police by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40. In an emergency, always dial 999.
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