Homeless Darlington robber stole £340 from two men

Henrie Swales grabbed £160 out one victim’s wallet when he approached him outside a Darlington town centre pub.

Teesside Crown Court heard how less than two weeks later the 22-year-old robbed a man at a cashpoint after trying to beg him for money for a bus and cigarettes.

Tabitha Buck, prosecuting, said Swales was initially given some cash by the man outside the Boot and Shoe before snatching his wallet and running away with it as he emptied it on February 12 this year.

She said: “When he has taken out his wallet, the defendant has reached out and taken it from his hands, which contained £160 in notes.

“The defendant then ran away while removing the cash and then dropping the empty wallet.”

The Boot and Shoe in Darlington

The robbery happened on February 23 at around 7.20pm when the defendant approached his victim at a cashpoint on Northgate and wrestled him to the ground before stealing £180.

She added: “The defendant has grabbed the man by his jacket saying ‘give me the money’ whilst pulling him backwards and forwards – there is a tussle between the pair.

“The victim has lost his footing causing him to fall to the floor and the defendant prises his hand out and taking the cash from him before running up a close by alleyway.”

Swales, of no fixed abode but formerly of Darlington, pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and theft following his arrest.

Amrit Jandoo, mitigating, said his client was homeless at the time and stole the money to pay for his stay in a hotel.

He added: “This was an act of desperation, a very unsophisticated crime trying to steal to get as much money as he could get.”

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Recorder Andrew Latimer sentenced Swales to eight months in prison suspended for 12 months as he had been on remand since his arrest.

“You asked him for a bus fare and he was kind enough to get out his wallet to give you something but you repaid his kindness by snatching the wallet and running away with it,” he said.

“The robbery occurred a fortnight later when you robbed your victim of £180. You grabbed him by the jacket saying ‘give me the money, before stealing the cash.”

The convicted robber, who wept as the judge passed a suspended prison sentence, was also ordered to pay the money back to his victims through a compensation order, attend 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days and carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.