Man jailed for 3 years for attempted knife point robbery

A young man has been jailed for three years after trying to carry out a robbery at knife point.

21-year-old Luca Hastie was masked when he carried out the attack with three other men at a former chapel converted into flats in Ambleside during the early hours of 23 August 2020.

Carlisle Crown Court heard on Monday 22 August, how serious violence broke out in a communal lounge area of the the flats.

Several men had watched a boxing bout before four men wearing balaclavas or masks, and carrying weapons, then burst in.

One of them was Luca Hastie, who was wearing a hockey-style mask.

The victim ended up in a kitchen and was backed into a corner when he heard a man demand: “Give me your money. Give me everything you’ve got.”

Holding the blade, Hastie lunged towards the male and swung it towards his head and shoulder.

The male raised his arm in a bid to defend himself and suffered a wound to the wrist and the court heard he began to feel dizzy.

The next thing he reportedly remembers is being in a neighbour’s flat and receiving first aid to his wrist, which was bleeding heavily.

He was taken to hospital where the wound was stitched.

A judge heard how the impact of this incident had caused the victim to suffer from nightmares, and he had been left feeling “shaky and jittery", he had also lost weight and took extra time off work.

Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson said: “The incident has left him feeling stressed, on a short fuse.

“He has tried to forget about it. Especially with Covid, people wearing masks, that makes him feel on edge and brings the incident back to him.”

Police arrested a number of people, including Hastie, who initially tried to run away from police.

A partial profile of the victim’s blood was found on one of Hastie’s shoes and provocative Snapchat messages were also later recovered.

The knife has not been found.

Two others who were detained had been released without further action and no-one else had been prosecuted.

Hastie, of Bankfield, Ings, near Kendal, later admitted a charge of attempted robbery and was sentenced by Recorder Ian Unsworth QC.

Hastie was sentenced to a total of 45 months.

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