Two masked robbers armed with a hammer and an axe ambushed a woman and tried to steal her phone, a court has heard. Shane Palethorpe and Thomas Harries were laying in wait for their victim as she emerged from a flat, and attacked her before chasing her dad.
However, during the incident they were seen to be unsteady on their feet and they left a trail of clues behind them, prompting the barrister of one of the defendants to say the offence "could not have been carried out by a more incompetent pair of robbers". Between them Palethorpe and Harris have almost 140 previous offences on their records including numerous robberies, burglaries, and inflicting grievous bodily harm. Palethorpe carried out his first robbery when he was aged just 10.
Ian Wright, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that on the evening of April 4 this year a woman was at her sister's flat in Clos Dewi Medi in the Morfa area of Llanelli when she received two phone calls from a man asking where she was. The calls were from a phone linked to Palethorpe, though he was trying to disguise his voice by putting on a "fake accent". The woman refused to answer the caller's questions and hung up.
READ MORE: 'Aber Murder Crew' tortured man in hotel room and planned to dump body on beach
A short time later when the victim and her father left the flat Palethorpe and Harries were waiting for her - they both had their faces covered and were armed with a hammer and a large axe. Palethorpe grabbed the woman and put her in a choke hold before dragging her by the hair, and the attackers then manhandled her as they threatened to kill her unless she handed over her phone.
The would-be robbers managed to get the phone from the woman's pocket but she snatched it back during the scuffle. The court heard that during the incident the defendants were staggering around and were unsteady on their feet, and Harries's mask kept slipping revealing his face. Mr Wright said the victim's dad then ran back upstairs in the block and was pursued by Palethorpe who was swinging the axe around - the defendant then began kicking the door of the flat, leaving a distinctive footwear mark which police would later recover.
When the attackers were told the police had been called they fled in a waiting Citroen van being driven by Palethorpe's partner Michelle Lewis. Police were alerted, and an investigation was launched.
A check of CCTV footage from the around the Clos Dewi Medi flats showed the attackers arriving in the van, and then Palethorpe making a call on his mobile from outside the flats - this is believed to be the second call made to the victim that evening. Officers were able to use automatic number plate recognition cameras (ANPR) to track the Citroen getaway van on its journey that evening as it drove from Trimsaran to the incident in Llanelli and then back.
A few days later the van was found abandoned near the Wildfowl and Wetland Centre on the outskirts of Llanelli, with the axe and hammer hidden inside. The defendants were identified, traced, and arrested, both answering "no comment" to all questions asked. Read about a fare-dodging train passenger who knocked a ticket inspector to the ground and left him with serious brain injuries.
The court heard details of an impact statement from the victim in which she described how terrifying the attack had been, and in which she said the emotional effects of the incident would last a long time.
Thomas Lloyd Harries, aged 30, of Sunnyhill, Llanelli, and 29-year-old Shane Karl Palethorpe, of Biddulph estate, Llanelli, had previously pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and to possession of offensive weapons when they appeared in the dock for sentencing. Harries's plea came on the second day of his trial. Harries had also previously pleaded guilty to criminal damage - urinating in his police cell after his arrest - and Palethorpe had pleaded guilty to possession of the small amount of cannabis which was found on him when he was arrested.
Harries has 47 previous convictions for 88 offences including inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, an offence which had seen him fashioning a cosh from a heavy object in a sock which he used to beat two people about the head. He also has convictions for robbery as well as for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, battery, thefts, assaulting police officers, and multiple burglaries. Palethorpe has 26 previous convictions for 46 offences including three robberies - the first committed when he was aged just 10. He also has multiple convictions for burglaries.
James Hartson, for Harries, said that, while not in any way minimising the seriousness of the offence or the impact it had, "the offence could not have been carried out by a more incompetent pair of robbers".
David Singh, for Palethorpe, said the father-of-three had experienced a difficult upbringing - as demonstrated by his first conviction at the age of just 10 - and had written a letter to the court in which he took responsibility for his actions and apologised to his victim.
Judge Geraint Walters said for reasons which had not been explained to the court, the defendants armed themselves with weapons and, having checked the whereabouts of their victim, "ambushed" the woman as she emerged from the flat. He said that, though "not the most professional of operations" - something he put down to the defendants being under the influence of drink or drugs or both - it must nevertheless have been a terrifying experience for the woman they tried to rob. He told both defendants they could properly be described as "career criminals" who had been offending from an early age.
Harries was sentenced to a total of eight years in prison, and with a 10 per cent discount for his guilty plea Palethorpe was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison.
READ NEXT:
Hotel burglar bit night porter and tried to steal owner's Mercedes
Drunk train passenger abused and threatened staff before kicking police officer
Son beat dad to death in family home after escaping mental health unit
Man pulls knife on McDonald's customers and staff after being refused service at drive thru
You can sign up to our regular Crime and Punishment newsletter here while this interactive tool allows you to check the latest crime statistics for your area:
