Robber terrified 89-year-old Leeds man in his own flat

A court heard David Galloway threatened the frail victim with his own walking stick and an umbrella as he made demands for cash.

Galloway, 36, tricked his way into the pensioner’s flat in the Burmantofts area of Leeds.

Stephen Welsh, prosecuting, said Galloway pressed the intercom button and persuaded him to allow him in to the building, claiming he was a tenant who had lost his key.

Galloway then knocked on the door of his flat and forced him back inside when he answered.

He then ordered the victim to empty his pockets and took a £10 note.

Demands were made for cash before Galloway used the pensioner’s walking stick to push him into his bedroom.

Galloway then picked up the victim’s wallet, removed his bank card and demanded the pin number. The victim said he did not know the number and Galloway removed £100 in cash before leaving in a taxi.

Mr Welsh said the victim had been badly traumatised by the incident. He said: “Because of this incident he has been left terrified in his own home.”

Shortly before the incident, on March 6 this year, Galloway tried to rob a bus driver as he was sat in the cab of his vehicle on Beckett Street.

Galloway boarded the bus and refused to pay a fare. He then tried to reach into the cab to grab cash but the driver stopped him..

Galloway began punching the safety glass and demanded money before leaving empty-handed.

Police arrested Galloway the next day at St James’s Hospital, in Leeds, where he admitted what he had done and said he was ashamed of himself. Galloway, of no fixed address, also stole a wallet from the counter of a convenience store in Armley on January 11.

He pleaded guilty to robbery, attempted robbery and theft. Simon Alexander, mitigating, said Galloway’s offending was linked to his addiction to heroin.

Galloway was jailed for four years, eight months.