Nottingham robber and fraudster jailed

A robber and fraudster who preyed on young people in Nottingham has been jailed.

Dylan Spencer targeted one young man as he walked with his girlfriend along Bluecoat Street, on 7 October last year.

After passing his victim in a car he shouted out the window and instructed him to “come here”.

He then grabbed the man by his clothing and threatened to produce a knife if he didn’t hand over money.

No weapon was seen, but – fearing for his safety and that of his girlfriend – the victim handed over £30 to £40 in cash.

On November 11 Spencer struck again – this time targeting two other young men with aggressive and menacing scams.

Again, suggesting he had a knife, Spencer pressured one young man into transferring him £270 from his mobile phone in Shakespeare Street after claiming to have been in a road accident.

Another young man was targeted in Ilkeston Road on the same day –Spencer again provided a false account in which he claimed he needed money following an accident.

The victim felt intimidated and reluctantly agreed to help. Spencer sent them an E-Gift voucher in exchange for £125 that was sent from the victims mobile banking app.

Spencer also targeted other young people in around the city centre with similarly audacious and aggressive frauds – each time concocting a story to illicit sympathy before pulling a similar version of the same scam.

Once victim was tricked into “lending” him £200 to buy back a phone from a pawn shop, while the other was sold a fake gift voucher for the same amount.

This approach was used to steal hundreds of pounds from two victims on 25 October and 8 November.

Spencer, now aged 26, was identified by officers from CCTV footage of the robbery offence in October.

His mobile phone number was also handed to police by one of the fraud victims he’s scammed.

Spencer denied responsibility for any of the offences when he was interviewed by police, but later pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery and two counts of fraud by false representation.

Appearing at Nottingham Crown court on Friday, Spencer, of Beechdale Road, Nottingham, was jailed for six years.

Detective Constable Tim Townsend, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:

“Spencer is a calculating and brazen offender who preyed upon young people in the city – using his imposing physical presence and the threat of violence to coerce people into handing over significant sums of money.

“This case was unusual in that money was transferred from mobile phones which remained in the possession of their owners during two of the robberies.

“Whether or not Spencer thought this somehow lessened the seriousness of what he is doing remains unclear.

“What is now perfectly clear to him, however, is that robbery – regardless of how it is committed – is an extremely serious offence that comes with a significant prison sentence attached."