A woman who robbed her own mother over a handbag in a Wetherspoons pub has been jailed. Julie Chaplin, 38, had spent £200 her mother gave her on a party before attempting the bold robbery.
Hull Crown Court heard how the woman marched in to the Admiral of the Humber boozer after midnight on October 6, 2022, and engaged in a "desperate tug-of-war" over a handbag with her mother after demanding money, reports Hull Live.
The shocked parent had already given Chaplin £200 the day before, after it had been agreed that her daughter's benefit money would be transferred into the mother's bank account in return for cash.
Chaplin was said to have owed her mother £100 but after receiving the £200 she showed up at her mother's home requesting more money. She was homeless at the time of the theft but admitted she had splashed some cash on a party.
The court heard that Chaplin had £70 of her benefit money left in her mother's bank account, so the mother gave her £60 cash. This was said to be the amount of cash that she had on her at the time.
The mother was on a night out at the Wetherspoons pub when her daughter came in several times to ask for money. The mum protested, saying that she did not want to go to a cash machine at night because it was dark.
Benjamin Donnell, prosecuting said: "The defendant came in one last time and told her that she was going to take her bag. The defendant went to grab her handbag strap and started to pull on it. The mother tried to resist and lean in the other direction to stop her taking her bag."
"The defendant ran away with it [the bag]," he added, as the court heard how the mother suffered a large bruise on her right arm as a result of the struggle. The purse inside the mother's handbag was said to have contained between £300 to £400 in cash, her bank card and bus pass as well as a mobile phone and keys to her house.
Chaplin was arrested but told police that she could not recall what she did that day. The mother later said: "I am shocked – shocked that my daughter could do something like that to me. I was crying at the time of the incident and it takes a lot to upset me. I am worried that she will turn up again, ask me for money and cause issues."
Stephen Robinson, mitigating, said: "It was a disgraceful act by the defendant, notwithstanding her problems at the time, and the defendant appreciates that. She is sorry and hopes for a future relationship with her mother. She realises that she will have to take things delicately and she has got a lot to make up for her actions."
Chaplin did have a previous offence from 2013 but Robinson claimed she had "shown that she could stay out of trouble". He said: "She is, despite her difficulties, hopeful for the future. The defendant has the best of intentions."
She had been on remand at New Hall prison, near Wakefield for around seven months but was jailed for 16 months. Chaplin is expected to be released within two weeks due to the time spent in custody while on remand. Her remaining term in jail is to be used to find accommodation before she is released.
Recorder Felicity Davies told her: "I don't want to minimise the very considerable upset that you caused to your own mother. It's crucial for your future that you have accommodation to go to on your release, as an absolute minimum.
"You need assistance to get a bank account and you need some oversight to help you keep off drugs and too much alcohol. You will have to take responsibility for trying to avoid drugs and too much alcohol."
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