Knife robber, 18, is locked up by judge

Shaquille Thomas-Hodge, aged 18, struck first at the Merry Hill shopping centre where he and an accomplice targeted two people heading for home, a judge heard yesterday.

He smashed one of the victims on the knee with a baseball bat and escaped with a Blackberry while his accomplice threatened to stab the other person while stealing a similar mobile in The Boulevard at 11pm on April 16 last year, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

Three days later another mobile and a set of headphones were taken from a 15-year-old boy in Quarry Bank at 10pm. Thomas-Hodge denied being the robber but admitted handling the stolen phone that he tried unsuccessfully to sell at a shop that bought and sold second-hand electrical items, explained prosecutor Mr Bernard Linnemann.

Staff did not purchase the mobile but made a note of its ID number which matched that of the stolen phone, explained Mr Linnemann. Thomas-Hodge was registered at the shop and these details led police to arrest him on April 26, two days after he had stolen another phone from a 17-year-old at knifepoint, the court was told.

That victim was stopped in Deeley Street, Quarry Bank, by Thomas-Hodge who held a flick knife to the throat of the terrified teenager.

Thomas-Hodge, who was living in Wolverhampton but moved to Wretham Court, Handsworth, had a lock knife hidden in a trainer when arrested.

Mr Ekwall Tiwana, defending, said Thomas-Hodge, was ashamed of his crimes that were allegedly committed during family difficulties.

Thomas-Hodge pleaded guilty to robbery, handling stolen property and possession of a knife.