Robber, 28 punched victim to the ground
HE ALSO STOLE MAN’S MOBILE PHONE
A“COWARDLY and sneaky” robber attacked a man and stole his phone less than 24 hours after arriving in North Wales.
Michael John Glynn, 28, wrongly assumed that his own phone had been pinched by his victim, so he tried to take it back.
But the innocent man suffered a nasty head injury during the incident in Holyhead, Caernarfon Crown Court heard.
A judge branded the crime “cowardly and sneaky” and jailed Glynn for two years.
Prosecutor Paulinus Barnes said the complainant, Matthew Williams, had been walking to Holyhead Station to catch a train to Bangor on January 31.
When he arrived he was told his train would not be leaving for an hour, so he walked home.
Mr Matthews said he was “in his own little world” and about to go up some steps near a betting shop when he was suddenly punched in the face and fell to the ground.
He looked up and saw the defendant Glynn and asked him what he was doing, the court heard.
The prosecutor said the defendant asked him: “Do you want another one? Give me your phone.”
Glynn took the phone and walked off.
A member of the public helped Mr Williams.
Police were alerted and Glynn’s description was circulated.
He was arrested but answered “no comment” to questions.
In a victim personal statement, Mr Matthews said he no longer feels comfortable walking out
alone without friends or family. He’s constantly on the alert.
And he has to ask for lifts to get to work from his mother or grandmother although he feels he is putting them out. If they are unavailable, he has to pay for taxis.
Ryan Rothwell, defending, said his client had hit a rocky patch in his life.
He had a partner and a four-year-old son to support and couldn’t get a job at home in Ireland, so he came to Wales.
He had been in North Wales for less than 24 hours when he himself was mugged and his mobile phone stolen.
Mr Rothwell said: “He saw the complainant (Mr Matthews) and for some reason believed – obviously wrongly – that this was the man responsible for mugging him. There may have been some physical similarities.
“The defendant was not thinking appropriately perhaps because of the rather dire situation he found himself in.
“Whatever the motivation, that 10-second robbery means that the defendant is going to serve a significant time in custody.” His actions were born out of “panic and stupidity”.
The judge, His honour Niclas Parry, told Glynn, on a video link from HMP Berwyn, that it had been a “cowardly, sneaky, unprovoked assault”.
He accepted it had been a “short, impulsive” incident but said Glynn had caused a “nasty” injury which had to be glued.
Jailing him for two years, he said Glynn, of no fixed address, would serve half that term, minus the time already spent in custody.
The remainder of his sentence would be served on licence.