Armed robber is jailed for 17 years after his victim recognised him when Facebook suggested they should become friends

A violent armed robber who was caught following a two month crime spree when one victim recognised him on Facebook has been jailed for 17 years.

Omar Famuyide, 21, was identified after his face popped up in the 'People You May Know' feed on one of his victims' social media pages.

A court heard he was one of two men who burst into the Ambassador's Relaxation Suite in Birmingham city centre on July 13 last year.

The thugs assaulted two women inside and threatened them with a metal bar and a handgun before shooting at the building as they fled.

Famuyide then struck again a month later on August 11 when he walked up to a man in the Highgate area of the city and held a gun to his head.

He demanded the keys to the victim's BMW before stealing the car, which was found by police two days later.

A firearm recovered from the vehicle was examined and found to be the gun that fired a bullet at the relaxation suite a month earlier.

Also found were keys to a Seat Leon, which was stolen by a man with a knife on the same night the BMW was taken.

The victim in that robbery contacted officers in August to say he recognised Famuyide from his feed on Facebook.

But when officers tried to arrest Famuyide he fled on foot through the city centre ditching a combat knife and a mobile phone as he ran away.

He was eventually caught and a search of his home in Highgate found a distinctive fisherman's style hat - identical to that worn by the offender during the Ambassador's raid.

A machete, a balaclava, a number of mobile phones and a further combat knife, identical to that he tried to discard during chase, were also recovered.

This firearm recovered from a car was examined and found to be the gun that fired a bullet at the relaxation suite a month earlier

Famuyide was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court after being convicted of robbery, attempted robbery and possession of a firearm and a knife.

Detective Constable Rhiannon Daff, from West Midlands Police, said after the case: 'Old fashioned detective work got us most of the way and we were able to build enough evidence to link all of the different items and offences, but we still didn't have a name.

'It was a crucial part of the investigation when one of the victims got in touch after recognising Famuyide on Facebook and was the final piece of the jigsaw that we were looking for.

'I want to commend all the victims who bravely came forward and gave evidence against someone who is clearly a dangerous, violent man.

'Famuyide is now quite rightly behind bars for a very long time.'- dailymail