A dangerous mugger jailed for dragging a frail 92-year-old widow along the pavement has absconded from a mental health facility in east London.
Paranoid schizophrenic Sanchez Edwards, 33, was on escorted leave when reported missing.
Scotland Yard launched an urgent hunt for Edwards and warned members of the public not to approach him, but to dial 999.
He was last seen at the junction of Wick Road and Barnabas Road, Homerton at approximately midday on Sunday.
Edwards was wearing a navy puffer jacket, grey tracksuit trousers and white trainers.
The robber, who requires medical support, has links to Hackney, Camden and Newham and is known to travel using public transport, particularly buses.
In March 2018, Edwards was sentenced to five years and eight months for robbery after a court heard the recently-widowed woman was followed and grabbed by Edwards who tried to wrestle a bag off her on Hoxton Street, Hackney.
She bravely refused to give up her bag contained a mobile phone, £100 in cash and a travel pass and was dragged down the paved streets.
It happened 60 minutes after Edwards was let out of Homerton’s John Howard Centre medium secure unit in June 2017, Wood Green Crown Court heard.
At the time, the Metropolitan Police released CCTV of the attack and images showing the grandmother’s horrific bruising.
Detective Inspector Paul Ridley described her injuries as “alarming and harrowing”.
In a statement, the victim who had recently lost her husband of 68 years told how she was “too afraid” to leave her house and is a “shadow of her former self”. She suffered recurring nightmares and could not sleep due to the pain.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Officers are appealing for information about the whereabouts of a man who absconded from a mental health facility in Hackney.
“If seen, Sanchez Edwards should not be approached. Instead, call 999 immediately quoting reference CAD 2919/23Jul.”
