Jailed: Thief who stole mobile phone from wheelchair user in West Bromwich and laughed in his face
A thief who took a mobile phone from a wheelchair user in West Bromwich has been jailed after members of the public helped police to identify him.
West Midlands Police said it had issued an appeal for information, including an image of the suspect, following the theft on Cronehills Linkway on June 20, which saw the owner drop the phone and the offender picking it up, laughing in their face, and then stealing it.
After issuing the appeal, the force said it received information identifying Kelvin Stewart as the thief and subsequently arrested him.
The 45-year-old, of Blue Rock Place in Oldbury, admitted theft and was jailed for eight weeks at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court on Thursday and was also ordered to pay compensation to the owner.
Sergeant Paul Bishop, from the West Bromwich town centre team, said: "This was an appalling crime where Stewart even laughed in the face of the owner as he stole their phone.
"His identity was unknown initially, but we secured an image which we were able to issue publicly to try and establish who the offender was.
"Thanks to information which came in we were able to identify Stewart and arrest him. He had no other choice but to admit his actions and he's now rightly behind bars for his crime.
"We're grateful for the support we receive from our communities and this just shows how working together makes a real difference."
