Ceridwen Gale, 49, and her 23-year-old son David, who told his victim he had a needle, were locked up for 15 months
A mother and son who attempted to rob a petrol station attendant who was on her way to work have been jailed.
Ceridwen Gale, 49, and her 23-year-old son David threatened victim Donna Barlow in the Tesco car park at Wrexham as he warned her “we’ve got a needle.”
Today at Caernarfon Crown Court both were jailed for 15 months after changing their pleas and admitting to the attempted robbery of the woman as she went to work one day in February at 6am.
The court heard the victim had been shocked by the encounter and had since changed her work pattern to avoid the early morning shift.
Prosecuting, Paulinus Barnes said after Ms Barlow turned out her empty pockets David swore at her and they both walked away, but CCTV identified them in nearby streets.
The court heard that another member of staff, a man, had earlier also been asked for money but they left him after he said he had none.
Judge Huw Rees told them: “It’s quite disgraceful to see a mother and son together in the dock.”
Prosecutor Mr Barnes told the court how David Gale, of no fixed abode, had been convicted of stealing £5 from a man in a wheelchair in the bus station at Wrexham in 2014.
In the same year his mother, of King Street, Wrexham, had grabbed between £50 and £60 from a man with learning disabilities. She had 19 convictions altogether, while her son had 22.
Henry Hills, defending, told how Ceridwen Gale had turned to drink after the loss of a child through illness in 2006 she had turned to drink.
She had been in violent relationships “and in recent years she has acquired a drug habit which led to acquisitive crime and a lifestyle sometimes living in the streets and other times with acquaintances.”
However in prison on remand she had withdrawn from drugs, her health improved significantly and she had attended courses in maths and English and IT. Shelter Wales had promised to help her with housing when released from jail.
Robert Edwards, defending the son, said his younger sister’s death had had a marked effect on him and led him to become a user of hard drugs. But by his own determination he had reduced his dependency. He wanted to turn his life around – “he wants to look after his mum, it’s as simple as that.”
Mr Edwards added : “Whilst he has no memory of what has taken place he wants to apologise because he accepts the evidence points to the fact that it was him.”
Judge Rees said it was disgraceful he had to sentence mother and son but “as an act of charity” because of the family tragedy and to mark both their efforts while in prison, he was reducing the sentence from 18 months to 15.
He said: “As always there is another side of the coin and I accept you are remorseful and you find it quite disgraceful what you have done.”
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/disgraceful-wrexham-mother-son-jailed-12350263
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