Two men drove around Swansea in the early hours of the morning looking for someone to rob before targeting a lone female walking home, a court has heard. Ashley Morrison and Benjamin McConway had already picked up a sex worker in the city centre with the intention of robbing her before spotting their victim and confronting her with a claw hammer and demanding her purse.
Sending the defendants to prison a judge said it was hard to imagine a more frightening scenario, and contrasted the bravery and resolution of the victim with the cowardly and bullying behaviour of the men in the dock. The court heard the woman the pair tried to rob - who was in Swansea studying medicine - has said she will not let the experience "break" her and will not let it change her opinions of the city.
James Hartson, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court the incident happened in the early hours of January 18 this year in Swansea's SA1 waterfront development. He said at around 2.40am the complainant was walking along King's Road from a nearby car park to her student accommodation when a small red car drove by. The car - which was being driven by Morrison with McConway in the passenger seat - turned around and followed the woman before overtaking her and pulling in.
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The court heard the woman walked past the parked car then McConway jumped out of the vehicle and approached her from behind shouting "Hey you! Empty your f****** purse!" The prosecutor said the woman turned around and saw the defendant, who had his hood up and had a snood covering the lower half of his face, raising a claw hammer above his head. McConway swung the hammer at the woman while shouting "Give me your f****** purse! Give me everything now!"
The prosecutor said the woman - who was on the phone to her boyfriend - had the wherewithal to place the bags and luggage she was carrying between herself an her assailant, told McConway she was on the phone, and then held up the mobile and told him he was on camera. With that McConway jumped back into the car and drove away. The woman went into her student accommodation and reported the incident to the night warden on duty, and later that day she alerted the police.
The details of the car were subsequently circulated to officers and at shortly before 1am on January 21 it was located parked on Rheidol Avenue in the Clase area of the city. The car was recovered and taken away for forensic tests. The court heard that later that morning Morrison contacted the police to report the car - which was registered to his partner - had been stolen. Two days later McConway was arrested. The prosecutor said McConway subsequently made full admissions to the police saying he and Morrison had spent the night playing darts and drinking in a Sandfields pub before going home where they continued to drink and also took cocaine. He said it was Morrison who first suggested they should "mug" someone to get money to buy more drugs and they later went out in the car "looking for someone to rob" The court heard McConway also told officers they drove around Swansea and at one stage picked up a prostitute on High Street with the intention of robbing her but changed their minds and later drove into SA1 where they saw the lone woman. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here
In a statement which was read to the court by the prosecutor the medical student said she had been on "a real rollercoaster of emotions" since the late night incident, initially feeling frightening and anxious but later becoming angry and then being left questioning why it had happened to her. She said she believed the men in car had seen her as an easy and vulnerable target, but she said she would not let the experience "break" her nor let it change her opinion of Swansea. She added that she wanted to be a doctor in order to help people and to contribute to society, and said she forgave the defendants and hoped they would use their time in reflect on their behaviour and change themselves for the better.
Ashley Morrison, aged 38, of Mysydd Road, Landore, Swansea, and 32-year-old Benjamin McConway, of Robert Street, Manselton, Swansea, and both previously pleaded guilty to attempted robbery when they appeared in the dock for sentencing. McConway had also previously pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon. Morrison has four previous convictions for eight offences including aggravated vehicle taking, driving with excess alcohol, and inflicting grievous bodily harm on a former partner. McConway has no previous convictions.
Dan Griffiths, for Morrison, said the court had a pre-sentence report, a psychiatric report, a letter from the defendant's GP, and a letter from Morrison himself in which he expressed his remorse. He said the defendant had depression and a diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder, issues which were exacerbated by what the reports termed "harmful levels" of alcohol and cocaine use. The advocate said his client seemed genuinely motivated to use the inevitable custodial sentence he was facing productively, including by doing the 12-Steps addiction programme. Andrew Evans, for McConway, said the defendant had held down a responsible job until his use of cocaine became an issue, and his demotion at work combined with the ending of a relationship led to a "downward trajectory" in his life. He said McConway had reflected on his behaviour during his time on remand and hopes to "salvage something" from the wreckage he had caused not just in his life but in others' lives too.
Judge Huw Rees said the defendants had targeted a lone woman walking home at night, and said it was hard to imagine a more frightening incident for anyone. He said the woman must have been "scared witless" but he contrasted her bravery and resolute character with the "cowardly and bullying" defendants in the dock. He also noted the magnanimous nature of the woman's victim impact statement and said she had a more "steadfast personality" than either of the defendants. The judge said due to the multiplicity of aggravating factors in the case the appropriate sentence after trial for the completed offence of robbery would have been one of five years in prison - that was reduced to 54 months due to the offence being an attempted robbery and was further reduced by one-third to account for the defendants' guilty pleas making a sentence of three years in prison. Morrison and McConway will each serve up to half the three years in prison before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
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