Drunk homeless man jailed after stalking Gravesend town center dog kennel and stealing her phone

A drunken homeless man who followed a dog owner through the city center late at night and tried to snatch her purse before stealing her phone has been jailed.

Mahabeer Bahia targeted the frightened woman Gravesend in July this year.

On one occasion, she hid in the doorway of a shop and even called the police before a member of the public came to her aid.

However, despite this, the 30-year-old continued his threatening behavior and, once outside the train station, punched his victim in the face and neck as he grabbed her phone from her hands and fled.

But Bahia, who has numerous previous convictions, including headbutting his mother, was arrested after he returned to return the mobile device.

He later admitted the robbery and appeared at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on Monday (October 28), where the judge said jail was inevitable for someone who not only caused psychological harm to his victim but continued to pose a risk to society .

Around one in the morning on July 25, Baia asked to speak to the woman alone. He was with her friend at the time, but she refused and continued her journey down Windmill Street.

However, prosecutor Dominique Woolard told the hearing that Bahia began following her.

“She told him to leave her alone but he was invading her personal space so she shouted at him to leave her alone before hiding in the doorway of the Nationwide Building Society,” he said.

“Thinking he had left, she went to the ATM and then he appeared behind her as she put the money in her purse over her shoulder.

“He rushed forward and tried to take it from her. She called the police, a member of the public intervened and she ran away.”

She continued on her way and had just passed the train station when, seeing the same person who had helped her, she expressed her thanks.

However, Mr Woolard said Baia reappeared, shouted at the woman, pinned her against a wall and wrested her phone from her, hitting her in the process.

He then ran away, but when told to return the phone, he returned to the scene and handed it over. Then the police recognized him and detained him.

The court was told that Baia, of Gravesend but of no fixed address, had pleaded guilty but had no recollection of the incident due to being intoxicated.

James Harrison, defending, told the court that alcohol abuse had underpinned much of the defendant’s offending behavior over the years.

Citing what has been described as an “unenviable” criminal record which includes shoplifting, criminal damage, assault and battery, the barrister added: “The offenses are consistent with someone who steals to buy alcohol and as a result drives a vagrant lifestyle. problems with alcohol”.

But he told the court that while in custody, Bahia had made efforts to address his problems and had shown genuine remorse and some insight.

In addition, Mr Harrison said, the force and violence used in the robbery was “accidental and accidental” and not deliberate.

She called the police, but you still wouldn’t leave her alone

But Recorder Clive Brough disagreed, insisting that a “constructive” suspended sentence was the “best way forward” for Bahia and would ensure he would not appear in court again.

Jailing her for 20 months, he told the defendant: “The woman, your victim, was walking her dog when you spoke to her and asked to speak in private. She made it clear that she did not want to do this.

“You followed her and she hid in the doorway to avoid you. But you watched her withdraw money from the ATM and rummaged through her bag.

“She called the police, but you still wouldn’t leave her alone. A member of the public intervened, you followed her, and you ended up robbing her of her phone, punching her in the face in the process.

“She said in her victim impact statement that what you did to her destroyed her faith in people.

“She no longer trusts strangers, carries an alarm and a torch, crosses the road to avoid people.

“I looked into the suspended sentence and noted that the recently imposed suspended sentence was activated and thus clearly not a deterrent to you.

“I accept that you have a drinking problem, but your past response to supervision has been poor and the author of the pre-sentence report concludes that you present a high risk of further offending and serious harm to the community.

“Therefore, I am not prepared to suspend the sentence.”

Bahia was also made subject to a two-year criminal behavior order banning him from being drunk in public and entering the pedestrianized area of ​​Gravesend town center between Milton Road and Bath Street.