Knife-wielding phone robber who punched victims on terrifying Tube crime spree is jailed for more than four years

A knife-wielding robber who punched his victims in the face and snatched their phones during a weeks-long Tube crime spree has been jailed for four-and-a-half years. 

Fabian Pawlowski targeted victims travelling on London's Underground by asking to borrow their phones to make a call and threatening them by pulling knives out of his pocket. 

The 22-year-old robbed three young men in the space of a few weeks, between April 27 and May 15 this year. 

Footage released by the British Transport Police (BTP) showed Pawlowski fleeing the scene of his violent robberies at various stations across the capital, before being arrested following a manhunt at Stratford station on June 16. 

At around 1.40pm on April 27, Pawlowski boarded a Metropolitan Line train at Harrow-on-the-Hill station. 

He fist-bumped a man when he got on board and then sat down directly opposite him, before asking to borrow his phone to make a call. 

The victim reluctantly handed it over, but watched Pawlowski get off the train with it in hand at Northwick Park. 

When the victim followed him and demanded his phone back, Pawlowski responded by punching him in the face. 

The victim walked away after spotting what he believed to be a knife in his robber's fist. 

Three days later, Pawlowski, of Banstead, Surrey, brazenly returned to Harrow-on-the-Hill station and approached another man. 

After watching Pawlowski shove his hand into his jeans pocket, the victim - fearing he was about to be stabbed - handed over his phone, which was worth more than £1,000. 

On May 15, Pawlowski targeted a third man while on a Jubilee Line train travelling between Canning Town and North Greenwich. 

After eyeing up the man's phone and becoming aggressive, he pulled two blades from his pocket, before stealing the device and fleeing the train. 

BTP detectives identified Pawlowski through CCTV enquiries and intelligence, before issuing a wanted appeal. He was arrested by patrolling officers at Stratford station on June 16. 

He admitted the offences in July after being shown CCTV footage linking him to all three robberies. 

He was sentenced at Harrow Crown Court on Friday, October 9, after pleading guilty to three counts of robbery and two counts of possessing a bladed article. 

The judge sentenced him to four-and-a-half years in prison. 

After sentencing, a BTP spokesperson said: 'Fabian Pawlowski thought he could carry out a string of robberies on the Underground and go unnoticed. He thought wrong. 

'Pawlowski used deceptive and aggressive tactics to steal phones from three men in London earlier this year. 

'He was no match for us though. Following our investigation, Pawlowski has been sent to prison for four-and-a-half years.' 

BTP Detective Constable Olesia Berdova added: 'Pawlowski is a serial offender who set out to intimidate his victims, using threatening language as well as a knife to force his victims to hand over their mobile phones. 

'Pawlowski's actions have caused significant distress and fear and I am pleased that he will now spend a substantial amount of time behind bars. 

'BTP has been working hard to reduce the number of robberies across the railway network in recent years, and this case demonstrates that when they do still occur, we will never let up in the fight to take down robbers. 

'Every report of robbery is taken extremely seriously, and I urge anyone who is the victim of, or witness to, this offending to report it to us by texting 61016.'