A drunk homeless man who followed a dog walker through a town centre late at night and tried to snatch her handbag before mugging her of her phone has been jailed.
Mahabeer Bahia targeted the frightened woman in Gravesend in July this year.
At one stage she hid in a shop doorway and even called police before a member of the public came to her aid.
Unperturbed, however, the 30-year-old persisted with his menacing behaviour and once near the train station, struck his victim in the face and neck as he grabbed her phone from her hand and fled.
But Bahia, who has numerous previous convictions including one for headbutting his mum, was arrested after he came back to return the mobile device.
He later admitted robbery and appeared at Maidstone Crown Court for sentencing on Monday (October 28) where the judge indicated that prison was inevitable for someone who had not only caused psychological harm to his victim but continued to pose a risk to the public.
It was at around 1am on July 25 that Bahia asked to speak to the woman alone. He was with a friend of hers at the time but she refused and carried on with her journey up Windmill Street.
However, prosecutor Dominic Woolard told the hearing Bahia began to follow her.
“She told him to leave her alone but he was encroaching in her personal space and so she shouted at him to leave her alone before hiding in the Nationwide Building Society doorway,” he said.
“Thinking he had gone, she went to a cashpoint, at which point he appeared behind her as she placed the money in her handbag which was over her shoulder.
“He lunged forward and tried to take it from her. She phoned the police, a member of the public intervened and she got away.”
She continued on her way and had just passed the railway station when, seeing the same person who had helped her, expressed her thanks.
However, Mr Woolard said Bahia reappeared shouting at the woman, backed her up against a wall and snatched her phone, hitting her as he did so.
He then fled but, having been told to bring the phone back, he returned to the area and handed it over. He was then identified to police and arrested.
The court was told that Bahia, from Gravesend but of no fixed address, pleaded guilty but had no memory of the incident due to his intoxication.
James Harrison, defending, told the court that alcohol misuse was at the root of much of the defendant’s offending behaviour over the years.
Referring to what was described as an “unenviable” criminal record, which includes offences of shoplifting, criminal damage, battery and assault, the barrister added: “The offences are consistent with someone who steals to buy alcohol and lives an itinerant lifestyle as a consequence of alcohol issues.”
But he told the court that while in custody on remand, Bahia had made efforts to address his problems, as well as shown genuine remorse and a degree of insight.
Furthermore, said Mr Harrison, the force and violence used in the robbery had been “incidental and accidental” rather than deliberate.
She called police but you still didn’t leave her alone
But having been urged that imposing a “constructive” punishment of a suspended sentence was the “best way forward” for Bahia and to ensure he did not appear in court again, Recorder Clive Broe disagreed.
Imposing a jail term of 20 months, he told the defendant: “A woman, your victim, was out walking her dog when you spoke to her and asked to speak in private. She made it clear she didn’t want to do so.
“You followed her and she hid in a doorway to avoid you. But you watched her withdraw money from a cashpoint and you snatched at her bag.
“She called police but you still didn’t leave her alone. A member of the public intervened, you followed her, and ultimately you robbed her of her phone, hitting her in the face as you did so.
“In her victim impact statement she said what you did to her has ruined her belief in people.
“She no longer trusts strangers, she carries an alarm and torch with her, and she crosses the road to avoid people.
“I have considered the suspension of the sentence and have noted that a recent suspended sentence was activated and so clearly wasn’t a deterrent for you.
“I accept you have problems with alcohol but your past response to supervision has been poor, and the author of the pre-sentence report concludes you present a high risk of further offending and serious harm to the public.
“I am therefore not prepared to suspend the sentence.”
Bahia was also made subject to a two-year criminal behaviour order banning him from being drunk in public and from entering the pedestrianised area of Gravesend town centre between Milton Road and Bath Street.
