Muggers targeted people on festive night out

Two robbers who targeted revellers on their way home from festive nights out in a city centre have been jailed.

Mark Defty, 25, and Dean Baird, 37, stole a man's mobile phone and wallet, then marched him to a cash machine in the early hours of 27 December in Newcastle, the city's Crown Court heard.

Half an hour later they threatened to stab another man and punched him in the face when he refused to hand over his coat and cash, prosecutor Rachel Butt said.

Both admitted robbery and attempted robbery, with Defty jailed for four years and one month and Baird for three years and 10 months.

The first victim encountered the pair as he was walking home in the city centre at about 03:00 GMT, Ms Butt said.

Baird asked the man if he wanted to buy some protein powder from a carrier bag, when he refused one of the robbers shouted "get him", the court heard.

The victim fell as he tried to flee, with the pair pinning him to the ground and going through his pockets, taking his mobile phone and wallet, Ms Butt said.

The man chased after them and begged for his phone back, which the robbers agreed to if he gave them £130, the court heard.

They then walked him to a cash machine to get the money, before handing back his phone, Ms Butt said, although his wallet was never recovered.

About half an hour later, the two robbers, both of no fixed abode, confronted a man using a cash machine on Neville Street, the court heard.

They demanded he give them money and his coat, threatening he would be stabbed if he refused, with Baird rummaging in the carrier bag for a knife, Ms Butt said.

The victim slipped over as he pushed Defty, with one of the men then punching him in the face as he lay on the ground, the court heard.

The man was then able to run away and escape in a taxi, Ms Butt said.

Both robbers, who each had dozens of previous convictions, were identified by police and then picked out of an identity parade by the victims, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, the first victim said the pair had clearly gone out with the intention of preying on people.

The second victim said he was left with a black eye and blurred vision which affected his job as a pilot, adding the attack was shocking and he now feared going to Newcastle.

Baird also admitted stealing a wallet he found on 21 October 2023.

In mitigation, the court heard both men had drug addiction and metal health issues.

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