Man jailed after vicious robbery in Ripon car park

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Ethan Anderson, 20, who has a track record for serious violence, pounced on the victim as he walked through Ripon town centre, York Crown Court heard.

Anderson, a drug addict, was with a group of youths sat on a park bench who hurled abuse at the man who tried to walk away, said prosecutor Caroline Abraham.

Anderson confronted the victim, an Asian man who was named in court, and said: “You think you’re hard, do you?”

He punched the victim in the face and struck him in the eye, said Ms Abraham.

The victim tried to run away but fell over and Anderson punched him in the head while he was laid on the ground.

He finally managed to get away, but a short time later Anderson and three other males confronted him again in a car park near Ripon Cathedral.

“(Anderson) walked towards him and demanded money,” said Ms Abraham.

“The defendant put his right hand into his pocket and gestured (as if) he had a weapon.”

Anderson told the victim: “Do you know what I’ve got in my pocket? Give me your money.”

“The victim handed over £20 to (Anderson), who did not have a weapon,” added Ms Abraham.

The victim suffered injuries including a swollen eye, bruising to his cheek and a grazed hand.

Anderson, who was addicted to cocaine, was arrested after the victim identified him about a month after the attack which took place at around 9pm on June 27 last year.

On October 15, Anderson was arrested again after police were called out to a “domestic” incident in Ripon. Officers searched him and found a lock knife in his pocket.

On December 8, police were called out to North Street in Ripon, where Anderson was seen waving a tyre iron in the air during an altercation with another man outside the Wonderland bar.

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Just before the incident, Anderson could be heard “shouting for an individual inside the bar, saying he was going to smash his head in”, said Ms Abraham.

“Another male approached the defendant and an altercation ensued. The defendant was brandishing a metal tyre iron and waving it at the male, shouting ‘Come on then!’”

Anderson was arrested but denied affray and possessing an offensive weapon. He was found guilty of the charges following a trial at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court in June.

He ultimately admitted the robbery in the Ripon car park and also pleaded guilty to possessing the lock knife in a separate incident.

Anderson - from Ripon but of no fixed address - appeared for sentence on all charges via video link on Monday.

The court heard he had 14 previous convictions for 26 offences, mainly violence and public disorder.

His rap sheet included two previous convictions for robbery, as well as possessing weapons.

Defence barrister John Batchelor said Anderson was now apologetic for his behaviour following a period of “forced abstinence” from drugs while remanded in custody.

Anderson, a father-of-one, had written a letter to the court saying that “I did unforgiveable things” and that “drugs were my avenue of escape”.

“The cause of these offences was drugs,” added Mr Batchelor.

Judge Sean Morris said it was “time for a shot across (Anderson’s) bows” following his third robbery conviction.

He told Anderson: “You have an appalling record for somebody of your age. The robbery was a nasty robbery and it was on a man who was just walking through town.

“You pursued him and you fleeced him, threatening that you had a weapon.”

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Jailing Anderson for three years and nine months, the judge told him he had been given “chance after chance and some lenient sentences (in the past) and they haven’t worked”.

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