Knifeman who took social worker’s phone found not guilty of robbery

A MAN in ‘turmoil’ who admitting carrying a steak knife as he took a social worker’s phone insists his actions were a plea for help.

Stephen Hastie stood accused of robbing the phone after holding the knife at the social worker’s cheek, having made his way into the home of her vulnerable client.

But the 33-year-old insisted he was only carrying the knife to harm himself. After a trial at Stockport’s Nightingale Crown Court, he was found not guilty of robbery.

The court heard that Hastie, of Cartmel Walk, Middleton, entered the vulnerable person’s home at around 4.30pm on January 6, 2020.

Believing it may be someone they knew, the person went to answer before allegedly being threatened by Hastie, who was carrying a steak knife.

Prosecuting, Simon Blakebrough said

Hastie then pointed the knife towards the social worker’s cheek as he took her work phone and placed it in his pocket, before later giving it back to her.

The court heard that the social worker told Hastie she was ‘there to help’ her client, to which Hastie replied: “I need help, I need someone to talk to.”

Defending, Adam Roxborough urged the jury to pay attention to a custody record following his client’s arrest, which described Hastie as being of ‘a high risk of suicide’.

He added: “This was a man in turmoil. His thoughts were not ordered, or rational, or sensible. He could have taken anything, anything at all - but he did not.”

Jurors retired to consider their verdict on Wednesday afternoon before returning a unanimous not guilty verdict.