A helpless old man was robbed as he was beaten with his own walking stick.
The victim, 74, had £300 taken from him in the terrifying attack orchestrated by Rhyl drug addict Sara Garbutt, who had previously stolen £800 the pensioner had been saving for a relative’s funeral.
When the elderly man opened his front door, Garbutt asked him where his wallet was. He refused to give her any more money because she had previously stolen from him, and there was a scuffle.
A thug in a hooded top - who has never been traced - then burst in and attacked the old man, taking hold of a walking stick and beating him with it, leaving him cut and bruised.
The pair made off with the money he had hidden on top of his wardrobe, and they also took his mobile phone.
At Mold Crown Court today, Garbutt, of Wellington Road, was jailed for eight and a half years.
The 49-year-old mother-of-two showed no emotion as she was sent down and slammed by Judge Rhys Rowlands for her “truly appalling behaviour”.
After the jury found her guilty of robbery and theft, Judge Rowards said: “I cannot think of a more horrifying experience for anyone to be robbed by two people in their own home .
He said her drug addiction “may explain the reason behind (the robbery) but does not excuse it at all”.
He added: “You knew how vulnerable he was and stole from him, not once but twice.”
Garbutt had first stolen from the man after turning up at his house unannounced one day last September. She had got to know him through a mutual friend, and when he learned she was unwell he sent her some biscuits.
She rushed into his house and took £800.
He was shaken by the theft but did not report it and was prepared to give her another chance, hoping she would return the money.
“You did nothing of the sort and stayed away,” the judge said.
When she returned on December 28 last year, having given him time to save up more money, she asked again where the wallet was, but when the old man resisted he was attacked.
Defending barrister Simon Killeen said that Garbutt had suffered issues with drugs, there had been a gap but then there appeared to have been a relapse into the use of hard drugs.
It was to her credit that she had done well as a single mother – her daughter was a clinical psychologist and her teenage son was attending college.
Her own father was seriously ill at the present time which would make custody all the more difficult.
It was quite remarkable that she found herself in her current position and there was clearly another side to her when she was not craving hard drugs.
“Her need for class A drugs can be so powerful to provide an explanation for what otherwise would be inexplicable,” said Mr Killeen.
North Wales Police District Inspector Alwyn Williams, at Rhyl Police Station, said: “It is important the Criminal Justice System imposes strong sentences on those few people in our communities intent on disrupting the lives of the vast majority of law abiding citizens.
“Garbutt is a prolific offender and her sentence will I’m sure bring a degree of relief not only to her victims but to many in the local community also.
“I welcome the sentence and hope it will provide the public with some reassurance and make our communities safer.”
see-http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/sara-garbutt-rhyl-jailed-robbery-11963095
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