Brave pensioner, 91, in court to see mugger jailed for 11 years who left her with sickening injuries as he stole just £20
- Heroin addict Eric Banton, 49, had a string of 39 convictions before he gave Lynne Elmer-Laird a broken arm and a blood clot on the brain
- The grandmother came to Wood Green Crown Court to see him jailed and says she is determined to get her confidence back
- Banton should have been with his parole officer but was instead attacking the 91-year-old in broad daylight.
Battered: Mugger Eric Banton, 49, attacked grandmother Lynne Elmer-Laird just to steal £20 to feed his drug habit.
A ‘high as a kite’ heroin addict who shoved a vulnerable 91-year-old to the ground just to steal £20 to fund his drug habit was jailed for 11 years today.
Lynne Elmer-Laird, who suffered a broken arm, severe bruising all over her body and a blood clot on the brain when she was attacked in broad daylight by Eric Banton, 49, was at Wood Green Crown Court to see her attacker sent to prison.
Crack cocaine and heroin fiend Banton has a string of 39 convictions for robbery, shoplifting, violence, dishonesty and drugs offences dating back to 1979.
He has been sentenced twice for robberies, each for three years, and he breached two suspended sentence orders by attacking his victim.
Keith Stones, defending Banton, said his client had committed a ‘ghastly offence’.
‘The day before this offence he was given a suspended sentence of four months,’ he said.
At the very time of the attack Banton was supposed to be attending a meeting with a parole officer, but he said he could not make it because he was with his sick daughter.
In fact, he was robbing Mrs Elmer-Laird.
Mr Stones said: ‘The simple answer is, to use a vernacular, he was as high as a kite.’
The lawyer said his client was remorseful, and although his sobs from the dock could be considered ‘crocodile tears’, Banton was genuinely sorry and had reached ‘rock bottom’.
Sick: Eric Banton should have been with his probation officer but instead shoved and attacked the pensioner – leaving her with devastating injuries including a blood clot on the brain
Passing sentence, Judge James Patrick said Banton lived a life of ‘entrenched offending’.
Brave: Lynne Elmer-Laird came to court to see Banton sentenced and is determined to get her confidence back after the dreadful incident
Referring to him avoiding being sent to jail the day before the attack, he told him: ‘You celebrated your good fortune with a binge of drink and drugs.’
Turning to the robbery, he said he did not accept that Banton had ‘dipped’ his hand into Mrs Elmer-Laird’s handbag, but that he ‘deliberately and forcefully’ grabbed it.
‘She is determined to gain her confidence back,’ he said.
‘What you did to her must have devastated not only her but her family and friends.
‘You are unable to live in society.’
The judge told Banton he was not enacting the existing suspended sentence orders, but he must serve six-and-a-half years of his 11-year sentence behind bars, with the remaining four-and-a-half years on licence.
Pc Paul Hallas, the investigating officer, said: ‘Eric Banton deliberately targeted an elderly woman who, despite being frail from a fall, valued her independence enough to continue to shop and visit places in the local area.
‘He left her on the ground with significant injuries and is lucky she had the resilience to pull through or he could have faced far mores serious charges.
‘Banton hoped to get away with his crime and it was only through CCTV images released through media appeals that he was identified, subsequently arrested and charged.
‘Mrs Elmer-Laird has shown tremendous bravery and courage through this ordeal and I hope these strengths will enable her to continue with her full and active life.’
Keeping calm and carrying on: Inspirational Mrs Elmer-Laird was desperate to be in court to see the attacker jailed and is rebuilding her life after being attacked in the street
Wonderful: Lynne Elmer-Laird, 91, smiles as she speaks to media following the sentencing of crack addict Eric Banton, 49, from Northumberland Park in Tottenham, north London
No comments:
Post a Comment