Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Armed mugger stole teen’s winnings
A teenage girl who was threatened with a knife and robbed of her £1,100 arcade winnings has spoken of her relief that her attacker has been jailed - but said her life is in ruins.
Nineteen-year-old Joleen Bradshaw, from Canterbury, spent the day at Leysdown on Sheppey last June with her brother Billy and his girlfriend Millie.
The visit was going well and she had several big wins on the fruit machines.
But after she left the Premier shop in Leysdown Road, prior to returning to her home in the city, she was confronted by 27-year-old William Smith.
He demanded she hand over her purse that contained her winnings and lunged at his victim with a knife.
Following a struggle, he picked up the purse from the ground and ran away.
CCTV images showed Smith fleeing the scene, and a member of the public was able to identify the robber.
Police also retrieved a hat which Smith was wearing until it fell off during the tussle.
Two months after the attack, officers tracked him down to an address in Shoreham where he was arrested.
Despite claiming in interview that he was not in Leysdown on the date of the offence, forensic enquiries found Smith’s DNA profile on the seized hat.
The 27-year-old, of Beechwood Drive, Meopham, went on to admit robbery and possessing a blade in a public place.
Last week, he was jailed for six years at Woolwich Crown Court.
But Miss Bradshaw said: “I’m glad he has been convicted and justice has been done, but I’m still a mess.
“I can’t sleep at night. I’m depressed and I’m afraid to go out.”
Miss Bradshaw is having counselling and is on medication and taking sleeping pills prescribed by her doctor, but nothing has lifted her anxiety.
She said: “I’ve been diagnosed with a stress disorder. I just can’t get to sleep, despite the sleeping tablets, and then during the day I’m just depressed and can’t bring myself to do anything.”
Miss Bradshaw suffered minor cuts and bruises in her struggle with Smith, but says her mental health has been seriously affected.
She said: “My driving licence was in the purse he took, with my address on it. Since the trial, I keep thinking, suppose he sends friends or relatives round after me? I daren’t go out.”
Miss Bradshaw who lives with her mother said: “I’m even thinking I might have to move, but I don’t want to do that, my mum is my biggest support.”
Investigating officer Detective Constable Dan Bister said: ‘The levels of violence that Smith was prepared to use to steal this money shows him to be a clear danger to the public and I welcome the sentence that has been imposed.”