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Knife-wielding robber jailed after train attack


A KNIFE-WIELDING robber has been jailed for five years following an attack onboard a train.

James Ritchie struck onboard a C2C train travelling between Benfleet and Westcliff when he threatened to stab a 22-year-old man with a flick knife.

He held the knife to the victim’s stomach on December 12 and then stole two mobile phones and a designer wallet worth £800 in total.

But British Transport Police caught him out because he called his ex-girlfriend just 20 minutes later - on the stolen phone.

Ritchie, 25, who lives in Southchurch Avenue, Southend, was found guilty at an earlier trial at Basildon Crown Court in which he declined to take the stand to give evidence in his defence.

He was sentenced to five years imprisonment for the robbery, with a 12-month jail term for possessing a knife to run concurrently.

Comments(10)

anon anon says...
3:17pm Mon 9 Nov 09

The scum bag should have got 10yrs.

Bester says...
7:25pm Mon 9 Nov 09

"But British Transport Police caught him out because he called his ex-girlfriend just 20 minutes later - on the stolen phone."

What about the CCTV footage taken from the C2C train???

evilc says...
9:15pm Mon 9 Nov 09

Look at the sentence :

It means 5 years meaning 2 and 1/2 years, concurrent means running at the same time as the sentence so that means =NOTHING.

two and a half years for Robbery which carries an 18 year sentence, and carrying a knife REMEMBER all the fuss from Labour about being tough on crime especially knives!!!

Having just watched Panorama on BBC1 I suppose the public were lucky he was given a caution.

Labour MUST go before Law and Order breaks down as a result of THEIR Policies.

Even Jack Straw announced today a Judicial review over sentencing it is probably to late but worth a try!!!

Dumbnut says...
12:44am Tue 10 Nov 09

Bester wrote:
"But British Transport Police caught him out because he called his ex-girlfriend just 20 minutes later - on the stolen phone." What about the CCTV footage taken from the C2C train???
I would have thought that the phone call to the girlfriend would have been more than enough evidence than cctv footage and the latter would surely of made him plead guilty. Let's hope he gets his come uppance whilst paying his penalty.

Maya Pinnion says...
10:14am Tue 10 Nov 09

so robbery carries an 18yr sentence, and the judge decides a different sentence, I would blame the judge, not the Labour party.But who cares, any excuse, eh Evil C?

evilc says...
10:41am Tue 10 Nov 09

Maya Pinnion wrote:
so robbery carries an 18yr sentence, and the judge decides a different sentence, I would blame the judge, not the Labour party.But who cares, any excuse, eh Evil C?
Guidelines on sentencing are made by Government on sentencing policies.

Did you see Panorama on Police Cautions? if not watch it on' I player'

Policies made by New Labour to obtain statistics to suit them are killing us!!

SORRY WITHOUT DOUBT LABOUR HAS DESTROYED THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM!!

The question to ask is 'Who the hell protects the victims'

Surely the people in command.

Finally as you say 'Who cares'

I BLOODY CARE!!

Peter Pantsless says...
4:01pm Tue 10 Nov 09

Evil, you do indeed make a point and i agree with it but the wheels were in motion regarding the failure of society in this country long before 1997.
I'm sure you'll agree that Thatcher is ultimately responsible for the state this once great nation is currently finding itself in today.
Do you honestly think things will be any different when silver-spooned-Camer
on takes back the hot seat for the tories?
One thing is for sure when it comes to the tories..The Rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

evilc says...
7:04pm Tue 10 Nov 09

Peter Pantsless wrote:
Evil, you do indeed make a point and i agree with it but the wheels were in motion regarding the failure of society in this country long before 1997.
I'm sure you'll agree that Thatcher is ultimately responsible for the state this once great nation is currently finding itself in today.
Do you honestly think things will be any different when silver-spooned-Camer

on takes back the hot seat for the tories?
One thing is for sure when it comes to the tories..The Rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
They cannot get any worse for LAW and ORDER!!

I fully understand that without Law and Order WE HAVE NOTHING!!

That is why we are fighting in Afghanistan to help them have Law and order, Zimbabwe has no Law and order and many many more countries do not have law and order without it nothing happens, and Labour are allowing it to slip away with their Social engineering.

WE HAVE NO DETTERENTS

And what happened years before this Government is irrelevant I am talking about NOW TODAY and Tomorrow Labour supporters trying to blame the past is deflecting the blame of the present.

Peter Pantsless says...
8:00am Wed 11 Nov 09

Well in that case Evil we all look forward to the tories fixing it then!
(Somehow i think you'll be very dissapointed)

trell says...
11:18pm Wed 11 Nov 09

Evilc has a point...despite the fact that as usual, it's vitriolic & spittle-flecked. I have visions of him in a dressing gown & slippers sitting in front of a monitor screen shouting abuse at the Echo webpage before typing, but I digress...
He's right. The Criminal Justice System is in a shocking state. Punishments are becoming so lenient that it is coming to the point where burglary will be dealt with by stern words not to do it again. It's already reached a point where Burglars may avoid custodial sentences if they play their cards right. - That was unheard of years ago!
The real problem is that the courts seem to forget about the victims. They don't see the criminal in their everyday environment, in joggers & hoodies. They see the criminal in the dock, smartened up, pressed suit, saying the exact things a judge wants to hear.
Furthermore, there have been times when indictable cases have ended up back at the Magistrates court when they should be dealt with at Crown Court level, simply because some clown has decided that it's not worth the expense to severely prosecute a criminal. The result? Criminal gets away with lenient sentence, gets away with it, repeat offends, and causes more distress & heartache to members of public, when he should be off the streets.


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