This is the face of mugger Nathan Gordon who robbed a 60-year-old lone woman of her purse after threatening to stab her. She was on her way to work when she was approached by 31-year-old Gordon, of Ilkeston Road, Radford, and told to hand over her handbag.
The woman was walking through the Forest Recreation Ground, at around 7am, on 23 November, 2021, when she encountered Gordon. She bravely grabbed hold of her bag after Gordon threatened to stab her.
"My phone was stolen," her statement read as Gordon was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday, May 18. "I was so scared. I wanted help as soon as possible. I was really shaken up. I was physically shaking and terrified this would happen again".
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Gordon rifled through her bag, stealing her phone and purse before running off – leaving the woman in a state of panic and without any way to call for help. Gordon, whose picture was released by Nottinghamshire Police on Friday, May 20, then went on to attempt to use her cards.
Gordon, 31, who has 91 convictions for 41 offences, was found guilty unanimously by a jury of the robbery following trial this week. He already pleaded guilty to four frauds after using her cards at places such as Tesco and the NET tram.
He had a previous conviction for attempted robbery, and three robberies where a knife was produced and money demanded from taxi drivers.
He was jailed for five years and nine months, with eight-month concurrent sentences imposed on the frauds. Judge Rupert Mayo told him he had been convicted by the jury of a serious street robbery on a lone female in the early hours of the morning and had threatened to use a weapon.
Detective Constable Chris Bostock, of Nottinghamshire Police, said afterwards: “This was a totally unprovoked attack on a woman simply going about her day. Gordon’s actions on that morning were despicable and his actions afterward in attempting to use the victim’s cards and money show that he really did have no feelings for his victim.
“Robbery can have a detrimental impact on victims not just financially in the loss of their possessions and money but also mentally, too. We understand the amount of distress incidents like this can cause to a person and those around them, so I’m happy that thanks to the victim reporting it to us so quickly and the hard work by our officers to build an investigation and find the person responsible Gordon is now serving time behind bars.
“As we have said time and time again, the use of weapons on our streets and the threat of a person using one will never be tolerated and we will do everything we possibly can to find those responsible and remove any weapons from our streets. I hope this outcome brings a little peace to the victim and serves as a reminder to those who think they can get away with such crimes that we will investigate any reports and bring those responsible to justice.”
