In a series of audacious crimes that left a trail of fear across Birmingham and the Black Country, former criminology student Kudakwashe Chowa has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for carrying out 18 armed robberies. Brazenly targeting banks, supermarkets, convenience stores, and service stations, Chowa’s reign of terror saw him holding shop workers at knifepoint and, in one instance, brandishing a gun to threaten staff.
Chowa’s calculated spree involved a combination of threats and violence as he executed his crimes, leaving a wake of stolen cash amounting to over £3,500. The 30-year-old, residing on High Street in Erdington, found himself sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on August 7 after pleading guilty to six armed robberies committed across Birmingham, Solihull, Dudley, and Tipton between February and October of the previous year.
