A one-time promising rugby player armed with a knife targeted a man who had just withdrawn money from a cash machine. Brandon Brock was part of a gang of youngsters who approached the man in the street before trying to snatch the money and throwing punches and dragging his victim to the ground. The 19-year-old then produced a knife before assaulting a Good Samaritan who intervened in the attempted robbery and assaulting a police officer who was arresting him.
Swansea Crown Court heard the teenager had been a promising young rugby player before turning to crime after his father came into his life and when the judge said it was clear from a letter he had read that the defendant's grandmother loved him deeply Brock began to cry in the dock. Sian Cutter, prosecuting, said the incident took place in Woodfield Street in Morriston on the evening of September 30 this year. The victim – a man in his 50s – had just withdrawn £200 from an ATM when he was approached by a group of male and females youths.
Brock told the man to: "Give me your green" before grabbing him and trying to punch him. The man with the cash refused to let go of his money and punched his teenage assailant in the face causing his lip to bleed. A scuffle then ensured with Brock swinging the victim around by the jacket and taking him to the floor while continuing to throw punches and trying to get the cash.
