Wrexham,North Wales - Former neighbour jailed after vulnerable Hightown man was robbed of £20 in his own home

Published date: 13 February 2017 | 

Published by: Staff reporter
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A THIEF jailed after he targeted and robbed a vulnerable man of £20 cash in his own home in the Hightown area of Wrexham was told by a crown court judge he had stooped very low and acted in a despicable way.

Former neighbour Daniel Golding, 40, denied a robbery charge but was convicted by a jury at Mold Crown Court.

Golding, 40, now of Maes Maenfa, Rhyl, received an 18 month prison sentence.

An indefinite restraining order was made under which he must not approach the victim again.

Judge Niclas Parry told him he “preyed on a man whose vulnerability was obvious to all”.

Judge Parry said that one of the worst aspects of the case was that Golding had forced the victim to relive what had happened to him by having a trial.

“He had to come and everyone saw how difficult it was for him to describe it again,” he said.

The judge said he bore in mind that no injuries were caused and the level of violence was low.

But the case was aggravated by his previous convictions and the fact that a vulnerable man had been targeted.

He also took into account that the defendant had not been to prison before.

Prosecuting barrister Brett Williamson told the court how the victim rang a police officer and said he was scared.

The call went to the officer’s voicemail, but when she contacted him he told how the defendant had been to his home.

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He told how the defendant, who he knew as a neighbour’s boyfriend who lived nearby, came to his door and asked for £25.

The victim said he did not have any money, but said the defendant looked desperate and forced his way into the flat.

He took hold of him by the arm, guided him to the living room, and was “being a pest”, asking for cash.

The defendant was said to be getting very angry and saying that he needed money and the victim, who was frightened, gave him £20 from his pocket.

When he tried to phone the police it was alleged that Golding grabbed his phone, but he gave it back before he left.

Golding, later arrested at an address in Ruthin, was said to have borrowed between £50 and £100 in the past which he had never paid back.

Golding denied robbery and said that he had never threatened or hurt him.

The defendant said that he had been watching out for his then neighbour after he previously heard the complainant shouting at another man in his flat, who had been pestering him for money.

When that man later came back he told him to “do one” and leave.

After the conviction, defending barrister Maria Massellis said that the defendant had worked for a long time as a courier driver.

Heroin had come into his life in the year 2000, but he had successfully beaten it and he had not taken heroin for two years and methadone for 12 months.

He had never been to prison before but would use his time constructively to follow educational and other courses.

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