A 'dangerous bully' who targeted a disabled man and battered him with a beer bottle during a malicious robbery has been jailed. Stephen Earle, 36, spotted vulnerable Peter Keppie using a zimmer frame in the Scarisbrick Hotel in Southport on August 15 last year and followed him into his hotel room at around 10am.
Mr Keepie, also 36, had been temporarily living at the hotel on Lord Street while waiting for an operation for his congenital back problem as the staff could cater for his mobility needs, the Liverpool Echo reports. Liverpool Crown Court heard that Earle, who was carrying two Desperado bottled beers, shut the door behind them and asked Mr Keepie if he could buy valium from him before offering to give him cocaine.
Bernice Campbell, prosecuting, told the court: "He began to rifle through Mr Keppie's belongings looking for his medication, before asking for cash and taking Mr Keppie’s bank card from his wallet. The defendant then struck Mr Keppie on the head with the bottom of one of the beer bottles.
