A woman has been given an extended sentence as a dangerous offender, after mugging a pregnant woman at a cash machine. It was 36-year-old Sarah Davies's fifth robbery, a court heard.
She wrestled on the pavement with her victim - using her legs to put the woman in a neck lock - before pushing her into the road, reports WalesOnline.
When officers went to arrest Davies she barricaded herself into her flat with a wardrobe and shouted abuse at them. When police forced entry to the property they found the defendant - who was wearing nothing but her underwear - trying to climb out of a window.
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Swansea Crown Court heard Davies has more than 60 previous offences on her record, and carried out her first robbery when she was a teenager. Sending the defendant to prison a judge said the time had come for a court to decide whether she was a danger to the public.
Dean Pulling, prosecuting, said Davies and her victim, Gemma Edwards, spent the day of September 17 this year together at the defendant's flat where her behaviour was described as being "erratic". The complainant later rang a friend, 71-year-old Stuart Lapping, asking for a lift home. Davies went with them in the pensioner's car. The court heard the trio stopped at the post office in Rheidol Avenue in the Clase area of Swansea so Miss Edwards could use the cash machine. Davies also alighted from Mr Lapping's car and moments later approached her friend and "lunged" at her, trying to grab her cash. Davies then punched the woman in the face and the pair ended up wrestling on the pavement with the defendant continuing to try to snatch the money.
The prosecutor said at one point Davies had her legs wrapped around the neck of her victim - who was 12 weeks pregnant - as the pair "struggled" on the ground. Mr Lapping then got out of the car and tried to intervene, striking Davies with his walking stick as the women grappled on the floor. The complainant managed to get to her feet but Davies then pushed her, causing her to fall into the road. Miss Edwards and Mr Lapping eventually managed to get into Mr Lapping's car and locked the doors and drove off with Davies "continuing to remonstrate". The driver later realised his phone was missing from the car.
The police were alerted to the incident, and on September 19 officers went to Davies' flat. The court heard she began shouting at officers and refused them entry to the property, barricading herself inside with a wardrobe. Police used a lock-snapper device to force entry and found Davies - who was wearing only underwear - trying to climb out of a window. She was arrested and subsequently answered "no comment" to all questions asked.
Sarah Davies, of Rheidol Court, Rheidol Avenue, Clase, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to robbery and theft when she appeared in the dock for sentencing. She has 42 previous convictions for 64 offences including burglary, drugs matters, public disorder, assault, and four robberies and attempted robberies. The first robbery happened in 2007 when Davies was a teenager; the second in 2011 when she grabbed a woman and robbed her of her mobile phone in McDonald's in Swansea; the third robbery offence - an attempted robbery - happened in The Office pub in Swansea in 2011 when she hit a woman in the face with a glass leaving a cut; and the fourth and final robbery happened in 2017 when she went to her aunt's house demanding money for drugs. Davies received custodial sentences for each of these robbery offences.
Andrew Evans, for Davies, said the defendant had been a long-term heroin addict but had taken steps to address that issue and was now a "sporadic user" of controlled substances. He said it was clear that on the day of the Clase robbery Davies had "taken or been given" substances which had a significant effect on her. The advocate said it was accepted the defendant was going to be in custody for the foreseeable future and said it was hoped she would receive the help and support she needed to address the issues which had led to her frequent appearances before the courts over the years.
Recorder Neil Owen-Casey said the victim of the robbery had been vulnerable by virtue of being pregnant, and said the incident had been prolonged and had involved the use of significant force. He said it was clear from everything he had read that the defendant had experienced "a very difficult adult life" and had been "ravaged by drug abuse" but he said the time had come for a court to consider whether Davies should be considered a danger to the public.
The recorder said he was satisfied an extended sentence as a dangerous offender was necessary. With a discount for her guilty pleas Davies was given a 70-month extended sentence comprising 52 months in custody followed by an 18-month extended sentence. The defendant will must serve two-thirds of the custodial element of the sentence before she can apply for release but it will be for the Parole Board to determine if she is released.
South Wales Police was unable to provide a custody photograph of the defendant.
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