Snapchat 'honeytrap' robber who lured drunken man in Leeds centre is spared custody
A woman who set a “honeytrap” to lure a man on a night out in Leeds in order to rob him at knifepoint has been spared custody.
Marianna Matova flirted with the man, offering to put her details into his phone on Snapchat, but then ran off with his phone.
Pursued by the man into an alleyway, two men were waiting with a knife and demanded cash from the victim.
Matova later fled the country back to her native Slovakia, but after returning to the UK to help look after her sister, she was arrested and was held on remand for more than three months before her sentencing hearing.
Appearing at Leeds Crown Court, she admitted two robberies and four counts of shoplifting from John Lewis in Leeds.
The court heard that the mother-of-four had got involved with a man, Sean Shackleton, who got her hooked on crack cocaine. He was later given a 15-year extended sentence for the street robberies and other crimes.
In the early hours of January 7, 2021, Shackleton grabbed a man on Briggate near McDonald’s, put him in headlock and held a Stanley knife to him, demanding money.
Shackleton was with another male and Matova, who appeared to be smiling and enjoying the robbery. The victim eventually handed over £80.
But for the second robbery a short time later, Matova approached a man on a night out, began chatting and flirting and offered to put her Snapchat details into his phone.
When he handed her his phone, she ran off. She then ran down a side street where knife-wielding Shackleton and the other male were waiting.
The man was forced to visit two cash points and hand over hundreds of pounds to retrieve his phone, otherwise Shackleton said he would “slice him up”.
Between December 2021 and January 2022, Matova had also stolen high-value goods from John Lewis, including a Dyson vacuum, Google Nest thermostats and and Ring doorbells. The total value came to almost £1,800.
A warrant for her arrest was put out for the 25-year-old after she fled the country. She returned in October last year to tend to her pregnant sister and was detained.
Mitigating, Ian Howard said Matova had been the victim of domestic violence in a previous relationship before meeting Shackleton, who got her into crack cocaine. She has no previous convictions. He said she had been homeless and now just wants to move back to Slovakia.
Judge Richard Mansell KC opted not to keep her in custody and instead gave her a two-year sentence suspended for two years.
He made it clear it was only because of her four children waiting in Slovakia who had not seen their mother for more than three months.