The 36-year-old robbed from multiple people in one month, including three elderly people
A prolific robber who dragged an elderly woman to the ground and stole her purse has been jailed for more than five years. Thomas Honeyman, 36, stole from three elderly people in one month.
On March 10, he stole a white Jeep from a business in Fengate, Peterborough, which he drove to a woman’s home in Crowland. He claimed to be from a pest control company.
When the victim said she needed to call a relative, he pressured her into paying him £28. The victim returned with her purse and Honeyman tried to snatch it, pulling her to the ground before running off with £1000 in cash.
The victim screamed out and a neighbour came to help, but Honeyman managed to drive away. Shortly after the robbery, he stole a leaf blower from a landscape gardener in a nearby street.
Two days later, he targeted a man in his 80s in Eye Green in Eye, Peterborough, and pretended to be there to fix the boiler. He persuaded the man to let him in, before stealing his wife’s handbag.
Earlier that month, on March 5, Honeyman stole a handbag from another elderly woman who had temporarily left it on the roof of her car in Werrington, Peterborough. On the same day, he also stole a wheelbarrow and a power tool from a B&Q in Maskew Avenue, Peterborough, before travelling to Crowland where he stole more tools from the back of a van.
Forensic examination of the Jeep that Honeyman had been seen using during some of the offences led the police to him. Officers also found the stolen leaf blower inside.
When he was arrested on 15 March, he was wearing the clothes he had been wearing during some of the offences. Honeyman, of London Street, Whittlesey, admitted robbery, two counts of burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, two counts of theft from a person, theft from a motor vehicle and theft from a shop.
On Thursday (November 20) he was jailed for five years and four months at Cambridge Crown Court. PC Craig Trevor said: “These were despicable crimes. To use a variety of distraction techniques and target elderly people in their own homes like this was callous.
“Honeyman’s persistent offending showed a complete lack of regard for other people as he relentlessly stole with no thought to the consequences of his actions. Offences like these can have a significant long-term psychological impact on victims, as well as the initial trauma they experience.
“I’m pleased Honeyman was apprehended and, by conducting cross-border investigative work with Lincolnshire Police, he has now been jailed for his actions.”
