Wolverhampton robber jailed after snatching necklaces from unsuspecting women
A robber who snatched expensive necklaces from unsuspecting women in the street has been jailed for 29 months.
Jamie Bunt, 21, preyed on two women, making off with their jewellery after grabbing their throats and prising the necklaces from them.
The 21-year-old was also punished for a string of offences including pestering his mother, threatening his ex-girlfriend with a hammer and intimidating a witness.
Prosecutor Mr Marc Davies told Wolverhampton Crown Court Bunt set his sights on his first victim, grabbing her face and snatching a £500 chain from her neck, on April 25 2016.
More than a year later, he took hold of another woman’s throat from behind, stealing her £650 necklace as she struggled to breathe and pushing her into a bush last July.
Neither of the necklaces stolen from the two women have been recovered, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
Intimidated
Addressing the court on Tuesday, Mr Davies said: “The [first victim] was intimidated and worried.
“The [second victim] had pain to her nose for a day or so after the incident. The necklace had been given to her by her mother as an 18th birthday present.”
Bunt admitted two counts of robbery, as well as threatening behaviour, having an offensive weapon, breaching a non-molestation order and taking a motor vehicle without consent. He was also sentenced for intimidating a witness after being convicted in his absence at an earlier hearing.
The court was told the defendant, of Rooker Avenue, Wolverhampton, was spotted lurking outside his ex-partner’s house while she was out on March 2, 2016.
He shouted at her as she arrived home in a car, hurling abuse at her and threatening to harm her new partner.
The defendant then grabbed a hammer from under his clothing and swung it around before he was chased away.
Bunt intimidated a woman, who was supporting Wolverhampton council to evict one of his friends, in June 2016. The criminal went on to steal a motorcycle and was caught by police when officers spotted him pushing it down a street without a helmet the next month.
Bunt also breached a non-molestation order forbidding him from contacting his mother or visiting her home.
Mr Davies said: “Bunt’s mother says she is fed up with his behaviour and his presence is clearly unwanted.”
Defence barrister Mr Stephen Cadwaladr said Bunt, who has learning difficulties and ADHD, dealt with the break-up of his earlier relationship ‘badly’. Bunt, who was jailed for 29 months, confessed to interviewing officers he took the hammer to his ex-partner’s home but said he never intended to use it.
