Trapped! Woman uses stolen iphone to catch bag thief
A BAG-snatcher was caught the day after a robbery when his victim used her Find My iPhone app to track him down, a court heard.
Noel Plummer, 45, was at home in Wythenshawe when police arrived at his door and arrested him for the theft 24 hours earlier.
He had targeted a woman and stolen her bag containing her iPhone, Kindle, wallet and credit cards, worth more than £1,100.
The victim turned detective and used the app to find the phone at Plummer’s address and rang police.
Two other thefts by Plummer were foiled when another victim – and members of the public – intervened.
A woman was able to take a photo of him after he smashed her car window and made off with her dash-cam. The image was later used by police during their investigation.
And during another theft, two passersby saw what was happening and grabbed him, detaining him until officers arrived.
Plummer has now been jailed for two years and nine months at Manchester Crown Court.
In his first offence, on July 7 last year, Plummer was at the 24-hour Tesco store in Baguley when he approached an elderly woman from behind as she was getting out of her car, just before 1am, a court heard.
As Plummer snatched the woman’s bag, she screamed and shouted for help, prosecutor Andrew Evans said.
Two men who were nearby were able to grab Plummer and stop him until officers arrived.
They were commended by a judge for their ‘publicly-spirited actions.’
After her ordeal, the victim said she was now too frightened to go out shopping.
Plummer was found to have a screwdriver, which prosecutors say he had for burglaries.
He was bailed and just four days later, on July 11, a neighbour spotted him smashing the window of a car near a nursery in Wythenshawe.
They raised the alarm and the owner of the car, a woman who worked at the nursery, saw her dash-cam being stolen. She was able to take a picture of Plummer, which formed part of the police investigation.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said: “It happened close to the nursery, I didn’t want the kids to find out. I was shaken up by the incident and I was angry.”
Plummer, of Heybrook Road, Wythenshawe, pleaded guilty to two charges of theft, going equipped for theft or burglary, robbery and committing fraud by false representation.
He was bailed again and at about 7.30pm on November 22, pounced on a woman who was getting out of her car on a residential street in Wythenshawe. After snatching her bag, she found him on Find My iPhone and provided the address to police.
Toby Wilbraham, defending, said the offences coincided with Plummer not being able to access alternative prescriptions, which he had been given after vowing to quit drugs.