81-Year-Old Man Gets Jailed Time for Working as Gangsters’ Getaway Driver Because He Was Lonely

Original article on OddityCentral.com – a blog on oddities and wacky news http://www.odditycentral.com/

Ian Hemmens, an 81-year-old former burger van worker from West Sussex, in England, was recently sentenced to nine months behind bars for aiding an alleged drug dealer flee the country while allegedly working as his getaway driver.

Life as a pensioner can get pretty boring and lonely, so much so that some people will do anything for a chance to chat with another human being, even act as an accomplice in serious crimes. Ian Hemmens’ layer recently told a Portsmouth Crown Court that his client was prepared to act as a driver for drug dealers Mahamud Sami and Akeem Adebayo, because it simply gave him the chance to talk to someone. The criminals in turn were glad to have him, because a man of his age, with his unassuming physique, was less likely to draw cops’ attention. Despite hearing the explanation for Hemmens’ involvement with the known criminals, Judge Roger Hetherington convicted the 81-year-old to nine months in prison.