Two men violently attacked and robbed their victim of cash after luring to a house under the pretence of buying some tobacco from him.
Daniel Johnson persuaded the man to come to his east Cleveland home but within minutes his friend, Ben Lancaster, pounced on the man, punching him repeatedly and threatening to bite his face.
The victim’s quick thinking meant he managed to record some of the attack on his mobile phone as a knife was used to cut the straps on his manbag while Lancaster kept him pinned down using his knee.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Lancaster, who has a long history of violent offending, was the main protagonist throughout the man’s ordeal but it was Johnson who provided the knife use to cut through the strap.
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Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said the victim suffered superficial wounds but had been left traumatised by the violence he suffered on March 27 this year as the pair stole £100 in cash and a quantity of tobacco.
A recording of the mobile phone footage was played to the court and a number of voices could be heard making threats as the victim was repeatedly punched to the face and body.
The video caught the victim being told he would be ‘stabbed up’ if he didn’t hand over the cash as ‘every dog has its day’.
Lancaster, of Eskdale Terrace, Lingdale, pleaded guilty to robbery and was give a six-year extended sentence as he was branded a ‘high risk’ offender.
Johnson, 37, of Thirlmere Drive, Skelton, pleaded guilty to the same offence and was jailed for four years and two months for his role in the robbery.
Judge Chris Smith the robbery ‘nasty’ as he locked the pair up.
Sentencing Lancaster, he said: “I have some real concerns about the risk that you pose in the future – you have a very worrying record, featuring as it does a conviction for violence and for inflicting serious harm.”
And addressing Johnson, he added: “This was a serious offence, and whilst it was unfolding before your eyes, you lent your assistance to it be arming Lancaster with a knife, that makes your position serious.”
Paul Abrahams, representing 30-year-old Lancaster, accepted that his client’s previous record exasperated his position but added that he was starting to make progress after he accepted he could not continue to behave in the way he had.
The court heard how Lancaster was locked up in 2010 for five years for another violent attack he took part in.
And Tom Bennett, on behalf of Jonson, told the judge that the defendant wanted to apologise to the victim for the harm they had caused.
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