A man has been jailed for the 'callous' mugging of two women, including a pensioner.
Iulian Doroftei, 42, from Ellesmere Port, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday, June 6 and was sentenced to four years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to the robbery of two women. Doroftei left a 77-year-old woman from Neston with bruising to her arm after he targeted her from behind whilst she was walking to her car on Heathfield Road in Ellesmere Port at around 12:30pm on Saturday December 11, 2021.
He forcefully removed the victim’s handbag before fleeing the scene. It is reported that several items were stolen along with the handbag, including her mobile phone, a credit card, a diary and a hearing aid.
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Less than 48 hours later, at around 7:45pm on Sunday December, 12, Doroftei broke the nose of his second victim, a 49-year-old woman from Ellesmere Port. He followed the woman to Wellesley Avenue and attempted to take her handbag from her shoulder.
The victim tried to fight back and,during the scuffle, she was headbutted by Doroftei causing her to sustain a broken nose. After knocking the woman to the floor, he went on to steal her mobile phone and purse along with various other items
Doroftei’s downfall came after officers obtained CCTV capturing him using the stolen cards in a Shell service station and a local pub. After further investigation, on December 15 at around 3:00pm, officers were able to locate Doroftei outside a house in Ellesmere Port where he was detained and arrested.
Investigating Officer Detective Constable, Jake Connolly said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the victims for their efforts in helping our investigation following these attacks. I would also like to thank the team effort of Ellesmere Port CID and Proactive team who assisted in putting a stop to these callous robberies within our community.
"This was a terrifying experience for the victims who were subjected to a very frightening ordeal. Thankfully, we quickly established Doroftei as the man responsible for these robberies and he is now being held accountable for his actions."
