A WEST Belfast man has been jailed for 15 months after he was found guilty of trying to a rob female student at gunpoint on a bicycle.
David Elliott (22), now of no fixed abode, was convicted last month of two charges of attempted robbery and carrying a firearm with intent.
A Belfast Crown Court jury heard the victim, a Turkish national studying at Queen's University, Belfast was walking home and noticed a male standing near her house at Wellesley Avenue off the Lisburn Road in south Belfast at around 9pm on January 30, 2018.
As she approached, a man on a bicycle wearing a dark hat over his head, which covered most of his face, stopped outside and pulled out a gun which he pointed at her face demanding "all your money".
She ran to her front door followed by the gunman who put the firearm into her back, again demanding money.
She managing to get inside and call police who arrested Elliott at a nearby hostel.
Forensic tests revealed a BB air gun pistol found under his wardrobe was an imitation.
The court heard Elliott, who denied being the would-be robber, expressed no remorse and "lacked victim empathy and awareness''.
Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland said the incident had been "very frightening" for the student" and had affected her studies.
