Bully who stole mobile from Staffordshire boy locked up for 16 months
A bully who stole a schoolboy's mobile phone to pay his drug debts has been locked up for 16 months.
Kyle Kelly duped the 16-year-old into handing over the phone on the pretext of making a call, then made off with it after threatening to give the youngster a black eye, Stafford Crown Court heard.
The youngster, who cannot be named, alerted a passer-by on Rugeley's heritage trail and police were called.
Kelly, aged 20, of Holyoake Place, Rugeley, was sent to youth custody after admitting a charge of theft.
Judge Mark Eades told him: "You resorted to bullying tactics that led him to fear for his safety." Miss Fiona Cortese, prosecuting, said the theft took place on June 17. After first being refused to borrow the mobile, Kelly pocketed the phone.
