A highly dangerous violent offender has been jailed for more than seven years after robbing a York City fan with learning difficulties and then stabbing a man in broad daylight.
Robert Elkes, 31, targeted the vulnerable York City supporter in Shambles shortly before midnight on 6 April last year.
The victim was punched, manhandled and robbed of his bank card, mobile phone, wallet, house keys and even his City season ticket.
Then, while on bail for this incident, he preyed on a man in the city centre in broad daylight, following him down Walmgate on his bike before plunging a knife into his chest and riding off.
Elkes, who has a huge criminal record including for serious violence, refused to appear for sentence at York Crown Court today (Monday).
After refusing to leave his cell and telling his barrister he couldn’t be bothered to turn up, judge Andrew Hatton said that Elkes would be sentenced in his absence.
Prosecutor Graham O’Sullivan said that shortly before the attack on the robbery victim, Elkes and another named man had chased him from Shambles Market as he made his way home from a pub at about 11.30pm.
The victim, a York City season-ticket holder, had watched his team play that afternoon, then went to a pub for post-match drinks.
It was after leaving the pub and making his way home, using a short-cut through Shambles Market, that Elkes and the other man pounced, said Mr O’Sullivan.
“He was chased from the market onto the Shambles,” added the prosecutor.
“He was attacked by the men and robbed. One of the two men punched him, one put his had around him and one went through his pockets.”
The victim, who has learning and communication difficulties, suffered a cut above his eye during the attack in which the robbers took his phone, his wallet containing £25, his provisional driving licence, his house keys, his York City FC season ticket and his Santander bank card.
Shortly after the robbery, the bank card was used by the robbers in city-centre shops to buy items such as alcohol and cigarettes.
The victim sought refuge in The Stonebow pub in Fossway, near the scene of the robbery, where he was helped by staff and two friends who happened to be passing by and called the police.
Mr O’Sullivan said the stolen bank card was first used to buy over £80 of goods at a shop in Bridge Street about ten minutes after the attack.
About 40 minutes later, there was another fraudulent transaction in Church Street. The robbers then returned to the shop in Bridge Street and tried to buy items with the stolen card.
Elkes, of Fossgate, York, was identified from the shop’s CCTV footage. He was later arrested and appeared at York Magistrates’ Court in late January this year when he was bailed.
Left man bleeding
Four months later, just after midday on 3 June, the second victim was walking along the footpath in Walmgate when he saw Elkes riding his bike towards him.
The victim, who was also named in court, started running as soon as he saw Elkes who chased him on his bike. When they reached a pedestrian crossing, Elkes struck the man in the chest with what appeared at first to be a blow with his arm.
However, as Elkes rode off on his bicycle, it soon became clear that the victim had been stabbed to the chest.
An ambulance crew arrived at the scene to find the victim pale and bleeding. He had suffered a penetrating wound to the side of his chest.
He was given oxygen therapy and taken to Leeds General Infirmary where a scan revealed that as well as a penetrating stab wound to the right side of his chest wall, the victim had suffered a collapsed and punctured lung.
The victim declined to give police a statement and his long-term prognosis was unknown.
Following Elkes’s arrest, police searched his home and recovered a Stanley knife. A white mountain bike that matched the one seen in the CCTV footage was also seized during the investigation.
Elkes denied any knowledge of the incident during his police interview. He was charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and ultimately admitted the offence when confronted with overwhelming evidence.
He was charged with robbery, carrying a bladed article and fraud in connection with the attack on the man in Shambles.
He also admitted these offences including fraud which were the illicit transactions with the stolen bank card. A further allegation of shop theft was ultimately dropped by the prosecution.
Assaulted an emergency worker
Mr O’Sullivan said that Elkes had 39 previous convictions for 78 offences including wounding/GBH, battery, fraud, burglary and numerous thefts.
Earlier this year, between the two sets of offences for which he fell to be sentenced, he was convicted of assaulting an emergency worker.
At the time of the robbery in April last year, he was subject to a court conditional discharge for a series of thefts.
He was sentenced in his absence today after his barrister Erin Kitson-Parker said that Elkes, who had been remanded in custody, had refused to speak to her and co-operate with the Probation Service.
She said that Elkes had mental-health issues following a difficult childhood and that his record was “littered” with theft and “dishonesty” offences.
Judge Mr Hatton noted a probation report which stated that Elkes posed a serious risk of harm to the public due to his “history of violent offending”.
He also noted the “grave” injuries caused to the wounding victim in Walmgate.
Elkes was handed a seven-and-a-half-year jail sentence and told he must serve two-thirds of that behind bars before becoming eligible for parole.
He said it would be up to the Parole Board to decide whether it would be safe to release Elkes at that stage.
Furthermore, the judge said he deemed Elkes to be a dangerous offender in the eyes of the law and would therefore have to serve an extended five-year period on prison licence upon his eventual release from jail.
Officer’s local knowledge
Following sentencing, Detective Constable Alex Dorlin of North Yorkshire Police, who led the investigation, said:
“This was a violent attack that left the victim with a collapsed lung. Though Elkes denied involvement at first, overwhelming evidence forced a guilty plea, despite the victim’s reluctance to engage with the investigation.
“Credit goes to the response officers at the scene who acted swiftly to secure CCTV footage and other crucial evidence.
“Thanks to the excellent local knowledge of one of our Police Community Support Officers, the suspect was quickly identified from the CCTV and promptly arrested.
“Further analysis of the footage uncovered additional dashcam recordings from nearby vehicles, which clearly captured the stabbing and contributed to the early guilty plea.
“This conviction sends a clear message that we’re committed to tackling knife crime and keeping communities safe. Even without victim cooperation, we pursue justice relentlessly.”
