Pizza Hut delivery man ‘killed with one punch by Stella-drinking thugs in ambush for £50 takeaway order’
Ali Qasemi, 45, was left dying in the street after botched robbery by two men who ordered takeaway with no intention of paying, jury hears
A PIZZA Hut deliveryman was killed with one punch in a botched robbery for a £50 takeaway order, a court heard.
Ali Qasemi, 45, was ambushed by two men who had been drinking Stella lager at a party where cocaine and cannabis was being used, a jury was told.
His callous attackers left him dying in the street after they robbed him of the pizzas he was delivering and returned to the party, the court heard.
Dad-of-two Mr Qasemi, whose wife was expecting their third child, died from his injuries in hospital two days after the attack in the early hours of Sunday 8 May in Peterborough, Cambs.
Joel Lawson, 25, of Norwich, Norfolk, has admitted manslaughter and robbery.
A second defendant, 29-year-old Mark Lintott, 29, of Peterborough, denies the charges and is on trial at Peterborough Crown Court.
Prosecutor Gregory Perrins said Lawson punched Mr Qasemi knocking him to ground and he banged his head.
Mr Perrins said: "On the night in question this defendant, Mark Lintott and Joel Lawson were drinking with friends at Mark Lintott's flat in Peterborough when they decided to call for a takeaway pizza.
"It is the prosecution's case they never intended to pay for it when it arrived."
Mr Perrins said the pair planned to use force or the threat of force in a "snatch and grab"; to take the pizzas without paying.
The court heard that Lintott had given Pizza Hut a false address so when he and Lawson robbed the driver they wouldn't know they had come from Lintott's flat further down the same street.
Mr Qasemi arrived at the scene at 12.50am in his Red Honda Jazz after starting his shift at 7pm.
He called Lintott four times trying to explain the address did not exist, at which point the duo left the other party guests to meet Mr Qasemi after calling the Pizza Hut to ask where the order was.
The court heard they quietly approached him from behind to surprise him, at which point Lawson hit him.
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Mr Perrins said: "Once outside Mr Lawson punched Mr Qasemi probably once, causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head.
"They collected the pizzas and brought them inside to their friends where they continued to party.
"Outside he (Mr Qasemi) lay dying."
Mr Perrins said a passerby called an ambulance at 1.06am after finding him unconscious on the ground by his car with his spectacles on the pavement.
He had suffered a skull fracture, and broken cheekbone which led to a torn artery in his head and brain damage caused by swelling of the brain.
Mr Perrins said: "They were both party to an agreement to rob him and during that robbery he tragically died. We believe they are both responsible for manslaughter."
Mr Qasemi's widow Fawzia sat stoically in court alongside a family friend at the start of proceedings but left when Mr Perrins began to describe the tragic events.
At the time of her husband's death, Mrs Qasemi said: "My husband was my everything: my best friend, my soul mate, my life partner and an amazing father.
The trial continues.
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