Man robbed boy at knifepoint and stole woman’s handbag
A BOY was robbed at knife-point as he made his way to school in a terrifying morning attack, a court has heard.
Stephen Illing held a kitchen knife to the child’s stomach as he stole his phone and ordered him to disable any tracking apps.
Just days earlier the defendant had preyed upon a lone female who was lost and looking for a taxi, leading her to a dark alleyway and stealing her hand bag.
Ian Wright, prosecuting at Swansea Crown Court, said the spate of offending began on the night of September 4 this year when a woman got off a bus on Woodfield Street in Morriston she had been hoping to get to Morriston Hospital but hadn’t realised the service stopped in the town centre.
The court heard the visitor asked a woman nearby for directions to the nearest taxi office but Illing intervened and offered to show her the way. Instead the 25-year-old defendant led the woman down a dark alleyway off Woodfield Street, produced a knife, and snatched her handbag. The woman sought help from a passerby, and police were called. Officers searched the area and the woman’s discarded bag was located behind the Lloyd’s bank building.
Mr Wright said Illing then used the woman’s stolen bank card to order himself a takeaway meal.
Illing struck again on September 9 when he committed a number of offences. The court heard the defendant stole a postman’s mobile phone from his van while he delivered a parcel to an address on Solva Road in Clase, and took a phone from a woman sat on a nearby bench after asking her if he could use it to call his mum.
The prosecutor said the defendant’s second knife-point robbery within a week took place on Caemawr Road in Morriston that same morning when a boy heading for school saw Illing falling to the pavement, and went to see if he needed help – the defendant the brandished a large kitchen knife, holding the blade to the teen’s stomach, and taking his phone. Illing told the boy to delete any tracking apps on the phone and warned him he would come back for him if he were to remotely disable his phone. With that a car pulled up and the robber jumped in and drove off.
When the boy got to school he reported the robbery to staff, and police were notified. An investigation was launched, and a suspect identified – when police went to an address linked to Illing later that day they found him and the three stolen phones.
In a victim impact statement from the schoolboy which was read to the court, the teenager said he had recurring nightmares about the robbery, had been left feeling anxious and worried, and was struggling to focus on his studies.
Stephen Nicholas Illing, of Pengwern Road, Clase, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery, two counts of theft, and one of possession of a bladed article when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has previous convictions for battery and theft.
Andrew Evans, for Illing, said substance misuse was at the root of his client’s offending. He said it was clear from a pre-sentence report that the defendant had some insight into the impact of his offending on his victims and on his own family, something that was “refreshing” to see.
Judge Christopher Vosper QC sentenced Illing to a total of six years in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody.