Drug-addled Wakefield daughter feigned arm injury to rob her own mother
A daughter who feigned an injury to get money from her mother robbed her when she refused to hand over cash.
Samantha Shaw wrestled the purse from the 64-year-old who ran out into the street to get away.
Shaw was handed a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court after it was heard she had spent the last few weeks on remand at HMP New Hall, which was described as being a “salutary experience”.
Prosecutor Zanisha Herbert said Shaw rang her mother on the evening of September 18, 2024, to say she was in hospital receiving treatment.
Gaining sympathy, her mother agreed to send her £20 through a bank transfer so she could get home.
She then turned up at her mother’s Normanton home with her arm in a sling.
The woman let her in and gave her food, but Shaw then asked for more money.
The woman refused and Shaw became irate and removed the sling from her arm, telling her: “F*** it, it’s fake anyway.”
She then tried to grab her purse from her and the pair “grappled”. Her mother ran out into the street pursued by Shaw.
The woman was pushed to the floor and Shaw took her purse and fled. It contained £65 in cash and bank cards.
Shaw, 45, was arrested the next day but refused to answer police questions.
She then failed to attend court twice, so was was arrested earlier this year and held on remand.
Shaw, care/of Manor Road, Lupset, Wakefield, admitted one count of robbery. She has previous convictions for criminal damage and being drunk and disorderly.
A probation report read to the court suggested Shaw took full responsibility, that being locked up in New Hall had been “eye-opening” and she was full of remorse and regret.
Mitigating, Michael Devlin said: “Despite her drug use, she has not been appearing in the courts on a regular basis.
“Unfortunately in this case, it spilled over into force and theft.”
The judge, Recorder Helen Chapman said the hospital story and the sling were simply a “ruse” to get into her mother’s home through sympathy.
She told Shaw: “You took that money and wanted to spend it on drugs. There was an element that you felt entitled to that money.
“I accept you did not plan to rob her but did so out of impulsivity.
“I accept that the pull of drugs was very strong indeed.”
She gave her a 24-month sentence, suspended for 24 months, and ordered to complete 20 rehabilitation days with probation and a nine-month drug rehabilitation requirement.
She was also given a five-year restraining order to keep away from her mother.