A pair who piled the blame for a robbery on an unnamed ‘third man’ have been cleared of wrongdoing.

Jurors at Oxford Crown Court took less than a day to find Oxford men Shumon Hassan, 26, of Humfrey Road, and Emman Riasat, 21, of Outram Road, not guilty of robbing the stranger during a night out in Reading last December.

During the trial, Oxford men pointed the finger of blame at their friend and the third man in their band of three. But both defendants refused to name the mystery male, with Hassan telling the court he did not want to be labelled a ‘snitch’.

Thanking the jury for their concentration during the five-day case, Judge Nigel Daly told the men in the dock: “The defendants are discharged on this indictment and are free to go.”

Both men strenuously denied any involvement in the alleged robbery, which took place in the early hours of December 4 on Oxford Road, Reading.

The trio had driven down from Oxford earlier that evening to celebrate Hassan’s 26th birthday. After leaving a casino they tried to get into the 613 Club but were told the massage parlour, which boasts online of its ‘wide range of attractive masseuses for every possible taste’, was busy and they should return later.

The third man was angry about not being able to get into a shut Chinese takeaway next door, Hassan and Riasat told the jury – despite appearing on CCTV footage to be grinning as he turned from the restaurant window.

He turned his attention to a passer-by, who claimed to have been surrounded by the three men.

A second man – the eventual victim of the robbery – was returning to his home on the Oxford Road when he was approached by the group. Hassan told jurors that Riasat informed him the man had used a racist slur.

In anger, Hassan punched the man in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.

Hassan and Riasat said they had tried to pull or push their friend away as he landed blows on the man. The former said his friend ‘didn’t need to do none of that’ when asked why he had tried to pull the man away.

The third man was blamed for taking the prone victim’s glasses and phone, with the two defendants claiming not to know about the thefts until after they headed back towards Oxford.

Prosecutors put their case on the basis that the robbery was a ‘joint enterprise’.

However, the defendants’ lawyers questioned that contention in their closing speeches. Stephen Bailey, for Riasat, asked: “If they were all in it together, as the prosecution suggests, why would you push one of your fellow robbers back away from the scene?”

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward