An Aberdeen mugger was forced to accept a £2 bank transfer after his 17-year-old victim told him he had no cash.
Craig Taylor, 33, used a large serrated kitchen knife to intimidate the boy – and then provided him with his full name and bank account details.
Police officers took no time to use that information to track down Taylor and he was soon arrested, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Taylor, who committed the offence while on early release from prison, has now been returned to custody and had more than two years added to his sentence.
Thief told victim his name
Fiscal depute Dylan Middleton told the court that the boy was walking along Tillydrone Avenue on the evening of November 22 last year when he became aware of someone behind him.
“The accused caught up with him before standing in front of him and asking him for money,” Mr Middleton said.
“As he did so, he produced a kitchen knife from inside his jumper pocket, motioning it inside and out of his pocket.
“The accused demanded several amounts of money before the complainer advised him that he only had £2 in his bank account.”
Taylor then provided his bank details alongside the name ‘Craig Taylor’ for the transfer.
He waited until the teenager showed him that the transfer had gone through before thanking him and walking off.
The boy returned home upset and told his mother, who contacted the police.
Officers typed ‘Craig Taylor’ into Facebook and the teenager identified his robber from the results.
When police attended Taylor’s home they found the knife in the living room and later matched his bank details to those used in the robbery.
Taylor pleaded guilty to one charge of robbing £2 by bank transfer.
Defence solicitor Christopher Maitland told the court that it was his client’s position that he had been “doing well since his release from custody”.
“But various difficulties arose that resulted in him relapsing into taking drugs,” he said.
“He has accepted responsibility and wants to apologise – he acknowledges this must have been a very frightening episode for the young man.”
Sheriff Graham Buchanan told Taylor: “This is a very serious offence which must have caused great alarm and distress to the young victim.
“It’s not the first time you have been convicted of assault and robbery, which led to a period of imprisonment.
“You committed this offence after you had been released early from a period of imprisonment, so the first thing I am going to do is order that you be returned to prison to serve the remainder of that sentence.”
Sheriff Buchanan ordered that Taylor, whose address was given as HMP Grampian, serve out the remaining 164 days of his previous sentence.
He also jailed Taylor for two years and two months, telling him: “I consider that you are someone who poses a serious risk to the public.”
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