1 week Ago By [email protected] (Mark Naylor)
A former businessman who callously "targeted" a 90-year-old woman for a cruel street robbery has narrowly avoided prison again after breaching a suspended sentence by committing more offences. Richard Spencer hastily ran off after a nasty confrontation when he stole her purse from her trolley just minutes after she had finished shopping. The brazen robbery, including taking the purse, containing £70 cash, left the elderly victim feeling shocked and uneasy and it had knocked her confidence, Hull Crown Court heard.
Spencer, 46, of Newington Street, west Hull, admitted breaching a 19-month suspended prison sentence imposed on April 26 last year for robbery of the woman on October 7, 2023. He admitted two new offences of shop theft on March 10 this year. The court was told that the 90-year-old woman suffered from chronic leukaemia.
She left her home at about 1pm and went to the Co-operative store in Hessle Square, where she did her food shopping. She walked towards Swinegate through a small alleyway leading away from the store and she had a collapsible fabric trolley with her. At about 2.
15pm, she was approached by a man whom she did not recognise and he asked her: "Can you tell me where The Weir is?" She gave him directions. He grabbed the handle of her trolley and swung it so the back pocket was facing him. He put his hand in the pocket of the bag and took out her purse.
She shouted for someone to help but there was nobody nearby. She tried to grab her purse but Spencer ran away through the alleyway before jumping over a fence, leading to a local car wash. There was £70 cash as well as various cards inside the purse.
Spencer's then girlfriend reported a domestic incident involving him to the police. During the telephone call, she told police that Spencer was responsible for the robbery of an elderly woman the previous day in the Hessle area. The girlfriend said that she saw Spencer wrap something in a black bin bag and take it outside.
The outline was that of a purse. Police went to the woman's house but nobody answered the door. They got inside through an open bedroom window.
A man in the property at the time ran away. He was described as being under the influence of something. The woman later told them that the stolen purse and bank card were outside her home in a black bin bag hidden behind a summer house.
Spencer had been "boasting" about it. He was later arrested at about 8.18am.
The purse and some of its contents were found in the loft of the garage. A bank card and other items belonging to the pensioner were found. CCTV from the scene of the robbery was obtained and it showed Spencer walking away from Hessle Square.
The clothes that he had worn that day, shown on CCTV, were found at the house. The elderly woman later said: "This incident has left me feeling unsettled and uneasy. This incident has knocked my confidence.
I will be inclined in future to ask a friend to come out with me." Spencer had been given a 19-month suspended prison sentence, 150 hours' unpaid work and six months' alcohol treatment. He was ordered to pay £2,000 compensation to the pensioner at the rate of £200 a month and he was given a five-year restraining order.
Stephen Welch, prosecuting, said that the latest offences happened on March 10 this year when Spencer was seen acting suspiciously in Marks & Spencer in Anlaby. He was monitored and tried to leave without paying for groceries, nail varnish and a bottle of wine, together valued at £35. He abandoned some of the items but tried to leave with the wine.
He was restrained and detained. Items that had stolen from nearby Morrisons were found in his backpack. Get all the latest crime and court news in Hull straight to your mobile via WhatsApp by clicking here .
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Spencer had convictions for 12 previous offences, including drink-driving, criminal damage, possessing drugs and driving while disqualified. Connor Stuart, mitigating, said that Spencer had already been given a chance by the court when he was given a suspended prison sentence for the robbery. The thefts were impulsive and were committed because of the circumstances that Spencer found himself in.
Spencer was a well-educated man who had previously run two "profitable and successful" businesses but he later suffered health problems and he and his wife divorced. "It was that which led to his downward spiral," said Mr Stuart. "He is now looking for legitimate work with the help of the probation service.
" Spencer was told that he had come "extremely close" to going to prison but he was being given what was likely to be a final chance. He was fined £100 and was given 10 days' rehabilitation..
