A County Durham robber who “frogmarched” a vulnerable victim to a cash machine has been jailed.
Lee Dunn, 39, followed his victim home in Chilton last August. Dunn saw that the victim, who has cerebral palsy, had mobility issues and pretended he wanted to sell his mobile phone, scanning the property as he did.
Dunn, who had recently been released from prison, returned to the victim’s property asking for a “cup of sugar for his bairn” before pushing his way in and threatening to stab the man. He then pretended to call an accomplice, telling the fake person to blow up the house if the victim didn’t do as he said.
He snatched the victim’s phone, before making him walk to a cash machine and withdraw £200. Dunn, of Chilton, left and the victim called the police.
Officers from Durham Constabulary’s South CID and Ferryhill Neighbourhood Policing Team identified Dunn and despite him trying to flee, he was arrested and charged with robbery. He denied the office, despite evidence, but changed his plea to guilty on the day his trial was due to start.
Today, Dunn was sentenced to six years and three months in prison at Durham Crown Court. His victim was also granted a ten-year restraining order against him.
Detective Constable Bruno Lee, who led the investigation, said: “Dunn is a prolific offender who targeted a vulnerable member of the community in his own address. The victim’s life has been completed destroyed by this and now feels like a prisoner in his own home, feels like he has lost all his independence and is unable to trust anyone.
“This is not acceptable. The victim has shown enormous strength and courage throughout the investigation to bring Dunn to justice and we hope this sentence gives him some peace of mind.”
Join our County Durham WhatsApp community
Join our County Durham WhatsApp community for all the latest news County Durham news sent direct to your phone.
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press ‘join community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/chilton-robber-lee-dunn-jailed-31179544
