Man jailed for knifepoint robbery (From Salisbury Journal)

Man jailed for knifepoint robbery

9:15am Friday 1st March 2013 in News By Journal Reporter

A 21-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed after terrifying a young couple with a knife during an alcohol-fuelled robbery.

Salisbury Crown Court heard on Thursday that Ryan Francis Greer and his partner Jaydee Starr, 20, had drunk at least a 75cl bottle of vodka and two litres of cider when they approached a couple in Hudson’s Field on September 22 last year.

Greer, of Castle Well Road, Salisbury threatened the young man with a knife and demanded they hand over all their possessions or he would cut his throat.

Starr pushed the girl to the ground while her boyfriend managed to escape and ran for help.

He found a police car, and when Greer and Starr heard officers arriving, they ran off, Greer taking the girl’s mobile phone.

The court heard that later that night Greer threw a bottle at a car with two people in it, smashing the back window.

Greer admitted robbery, attempted robbery, possession of a knife and criminal damage.

Defending Greer, Tom Horder said he accepted how deeply unpleasant his actions had been and that he had started an education programme and signed up to an alcohol-treatment course.

In an impact statement read to the court, the female victim said she felt nervous out on her own after dark and had experienced nightmares about the robbery.

Judge Jane Miller said: “This girl was quite clearly deeply disturbed by what had happened to her and the boy thought he was going to die. I can just imagine how terrified those two young people must have felt.”

She said she accepted it was an opportunistic and unplanned robbery and sentenced Greer to 32 months in prison.

Starr, also of Castle Well Road, pleaded guilty to common assault and assaulting a police officer who was trying to arrest her, and was given a 12-month community order with supervision and ordered to complete 40 hours of unpaid work.