A BARBER locked up for more than four months while he awaited trial for threatening a man with scissors has had the charge dropped – just as his trial was about to begin.
Ali Karimi was made a free man on Tuesday (July 29) after it was determined the person he supposedly threatened has gone to Iran with no plans to come back.
At Chelmsford Crown Court, Scott Wainwright, prosecuting, said the crown offered no evidence in the case against the 38-year-old, of Duke Street, Chelmsford.
Mr Karimi was arrested on Monday, March 10 after a fight between him and another man in Dukes Barber Shop, which Mr Karimi owned.
Six police cars and two ambulances raced to the scene and blood splatters could be see on the barber shop floor.
It is thought the men had argued over money.
Speaking to the Chronicle at the time, Chelmsford College student Charley Mae-Jewell, who witnessed the aftermath of the incident, said: "We watched one man come out with blood pouring from his face, by his temple.
"You could see where it had stained his face and where the new blood was coming out.
"Then a second man came out and he was put in a police car."
Mr Karimi and another man were taken to Broomfield Hospital for their injuries and Mr Karimi was arrested on suspicion of assault.
The next day, he was charged with threatening a person with scissors in a public place.
On his second court appearance on Monday, June 2 he entered a not guilty plea to the offence and he was told to expect a trial beginning this week.
On Monday, after more than four months in custody, an application for bail was granted and Mr Karimi was released from custody.
His trial was scheduled to start Tuesday.
But with the complainant out of the country and unlikely to return, the crown offered no evidence and Judge Anthony Goldstaub QC, who had described it as a "highly iffy case", found Mr Karimi not guilty.
Mr Wainwright said: "In light of enquiries we are going to proceed with a course of no action. In between the plea and case management and the trial we have been trying to contact the complainant to no avail.
"On the 21st of this month we spoke to a male at his address and he said he had returned to Iran and was unlikely to return.
"Officers attended this morning and were told the same thing."
He added Essex Police had been in contact with the UK Border Agency who confirmed he had left the country on Sunday, July 13 on a flight from Heathrow Airport to Tehran, Iran, without many any return arrangements.
Ordering a not guilty verdict be recorded in the indictment, Judge Goldstaub said: "Persons present at the scene said it was a fight rather than an unprovoked attack."
Mr Karimi, who is Iranian and would have followed proceedings through a Farsi interpreter, was not at court because he was unaware the trial was about to start.
But Judge Goldstaub decided not to take any action against the bail breach.
Evelin Hicks, mitigating, said: "I'll let him know you have been lenient."
Mr Karimi, who is believed to be staying with a friend in East Hanningfield, could not be contacted by the Chronicle for comment.
Hamed Kamali, 29, who is the owner of the Pizza GoGo on Duke Street, said: "I've known Ali for seven months and he worked hard every day and night, he used to come in here to eat.
"His English is not so good so I used to help him with letters and his business.
"He was here last night (Monday) and he seemed very different – he didn't know he had to go back to court today.
"I wanted to see him in jail but because he couldn't write to people he couldn't get in touch with anyone and he didn't have anyone's telephone numbers.
"He was saying he didn't know what he was going to do now."
Dukes Barber Shop has remained closed since the incident.
