Teenager sentenced over Penarth taxi driver robbery (From Penarth Times)

Teenager sentenced over Penarth taxi driver robbery

12:00pm Thursday 21st June 2012 in News

A TEENAGER was sentenced last week for his part in the 2011 robbery of a Penarth taxi driver – and was told by the judge "you have come as close as anybody to going into custody".

Dean Jones, 18, of Barry, pleaded guilty to robbing Windsor Cars owner Rhys Morgan as he tried to help a youngster who had earlier been chased through the town.

Recorder Wyn Rees, sitting at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday (June 14) sentenced him to 12 months in a young offender’s institute, suspended for two years. He must complete 240 hours of unpaid work and a curfew was imposed for six months, restricting Jones from leaving his home address between 8pm and 7am.

The robbery took place in the early hours of Sunday, March 20, 2011, when Mr Morgan’s taxi was approached by two males on Albert Road, Penarth.

They were armed with a baseball bat and an imitation firearm, and demanded money from the driver.

Nineteen-year-old Jordan Leonard Harry was jailed for five years at Cardiff Crown Court in December, in connection with the robbery and other offences.

Jones was arrested and charged in April this year, following an anonymous tip-off.

The court heard that during the incident Harry and Jones, who was holding the baseball bat, demanded money and took approximately £100 from the taxi.

In mitigation, defence barrister Byron Broadstock asked the judge to take into consideration that the defendant had been brought up in care and had started to ‘turn his life around’ by attending college; also that he was 17 years old at the time of the incident which happened 15 months ago, and that he had not committed another crime.

"This has been something that has played on his conscience," said Mr Broadstock.

"On that night he was dragged into something out of character."