Man who forced teenager to ground and robbed his wallet in Yeovil jailed

A man who forced a teenager to the ground before robbing him of his wallet in Yeovil has been jailed.

Lee Rowley, 22, approached the 17-year-old and started threatening him while he was walking in Higher Kingston in the evening of 7 November.

He then forced the teenager to the ground and made off with his wallet at around 7.30pm. The victim attended hospital after the attack.

Avon and Somerset Police officers tracked Rowley down in Glastonbury three days later and arrested him.

The 22-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and was jailed for three years at Taunton Crown Court on Friday (17 March).

He also admitted being in possession of a bladed article after he was found carrying a screwdriver one day before the robbery. He received a three-month sentence for that offence, to run alongside his sentence.

Police Constable Jim Card said: “This was a particularly unpleasant street robbery in Yeovil, which led to the victim attending hospital.

“We welcome the significant custodial sentence handed to him by the courts today and hope it acts as a reminder to people that the police and courts will look to deal robustly with dangerous offenders.”