Thief asked 14-year-old for 'business' before snatching mobile
A woman asked a 14-year-old paper-boy whether he wanted any 'business' before stealing his mobile phone in broad daylight.
Sarah Leo, aged 34, stopped the boy on Dixon Street in Wolverhampton just after he finished his newspaper round on March 18, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
Mr Kevin Jones, prosecuting, said: "He was approached by this defendant, who said, 'Do you want some business?'"
Mr Jones said she went on to search his pockets and took his mobile phone, which she later sold for £340.
"It is his belief that she might have had a knife," he added. "Being afraid, he left the scene."
Leo, of Millfields Road, Bilston, was later picked out in an identity parade. She pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to a single charge of theft.
The court heard she had an 'extensive' record, mostly for dissimilar offences, and recently completed an eight-week prison sentence.
Mr Jon Row, defending, said she intended to now apply for benefits and asked the judge to consider her financial position when sentencing.
She was given a community order with a requirement to undergo 12 months' supervision.
She was also ordered to complete a 60-day course for controlling drug misuse and to pay £340 in compensation.
Sentencing her, Judge Michael Challinor said: "I am not quite sure how it is that you intend to raise £340, but you had better make sure it is a lawful enterprise."
