A teenager who robbed a bus driver at gunpoint was jailed for two and a half years.

A jury also unanimously found 18-year-old Aaron Rodriguez guilty of robbing an elderly woman and attempting to steal a handbag from the bicycle basket of another on the same night.

Rodriguez told Oxford Crown Court that he was forced to carry out his crime spree by another man he owed money to and who had threatened him with a gun. The court heard that Rodriguez, of Moorbank, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, was one of two men who threatened Kevin Ore, a bus driver for Stagecoach in Oxford, in December last year.

The two had been among a group of men who initially flagged Mr Ore down on the Blackbird Leys estate.

The court heard that Rodriguez and an accomplice immediately started making threats after climbing aboard the bus.

Mr Ore told the court during cross-examination that Rodriguez demanded money and told him his friend had a gun. He added: "While he was doing that, he was reaching down the side of the door because there is usually a cash tray. He started panicking a bit when he couldn't find anything."

Gerard Quirke, defending Rodriguez, told the court that his client was a heroin addict who had fallen into debt.

He said Rodriguez had been "terrified" by the situation he had found himself in.

Mr Quirke added: "The man at the end of the gun stands trial on his own while serious criminals are sitting with their feet up, probably in Blackbird Leys, as we speak." On the same night, Rodriguez - who had pleaded not guilty on the basis that he was forced to commit his crimes by others - mugged an elderly woman in the street in Berinsfield and stole a handbag from the bicycle basket of another in an attempt to get cash.

As well as being found guilty of theft, robbery and attempted robbery, Rodriguez was also found guilty of possessing an imitation firearm. Judge Hall told Rodriguez that he would have been jailed for seven years if he had been older - and for five years if it wasn't for the special circumstances surrounding his offences. He added: "I acknowledge the very real difficulty of the situation you were in. It is abundantly clear you were treated as a very junior member of the team."

Story date: Saturday 24 April

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