A prolific Newcastle thief broke an elderly grandmother's hip after knocking her over on a zebra crossing days before Christmas.
Liam Carty was running towards a shopping trolley he'd filled full of stolen goods from a B&M store on December 18, 2021, when he ran into the 80-year-old woman and knocked her to the ground. The grandmother fractured her hip and had to lie in agony on the freezing cold ground for almost two hours before she was put into an ambulance.
Drug addicted Carty had stolen an Xbox and games from a South Shields store earlier in the day, before going on to commit another shop theft after running away from the scene of where he injured the pensioner. The 30-year-old appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on Wednesday and was jailed for inflicting grievous bodily harm, theft, burglary, and failing to attend court.
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Prosecutor, Neil Pallister, told the court that Carty's offending began on August 29, 2021, when he stole electrical goods from the WH Smith store at Newcastle Central Station. He was caught soon after but also failed to attend court on two occasions. He committed further shop thefts on September 30, when he stole coffee, and again on October 2, when he stole over £300 worth of goods from a Boots in Eldon Square. The next month, on November 15, he stole food from a Tesco.
But the most serious offences happened days before Christmas, on December 21, last year. Earlier that day, Carty went to Tyne Bargains in South Shields, and burgled the store by stealing an Xbox 360 and games from the staff area, and were not on display. He then made his way to a nearby B&M store, where he stole toys and other goods before loading them into a trolley and hiding it near an Argos.
A B&M employee who was walking in to work, witnessed Carty stashing the trolley, and notified fellow staff members. Mr Pallister, said: "The defendant then entered the B&M shop and the manager recognised him as he had been barred for shoplifting.
"The defendant was spoken to and he was asked to return the trolley. The defendant then left with staff. As the employees walked towards the trolley, the defendant started running towards it and ran straight into an 80-year-old woman who was out shopping."
Mr Pallister said the woman, who was walking across a zebra crossing, was knocked to the ground. "He stopped briefly and looked at her, but then shouted to staff, 'look what you f****** made me do', and ran off."
The court heard the grandmother was "screaming out in pain" and was left in "agony" as she lay on the ground. In a statement, the victim said she had to lie on the ground for around "an hour and 50 minutes" before an ambulance arrived.
The court heard that as members of the public assisted the woman, Carty fled and went on to commit another theft at Boots. However, witnesses recognised him and he was detained soon after.
The woman sustained a broken right hip, which required surgery for a hip replacement, and she spent four days in hospital. She now suffers from flashbacks and is still in pain, the court heard.
The court was told Carty, of Fairholm Road, Benwell, Newcastle, had 36 previous convictions for 63 offences, including non-dwelling burglary and shop theft. Mr Pallister said the shop thefts and burglary were "clearly planned" so that he could sell the goods for drugs.
Ian Hudson, defending, said Carty pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and said that the grievous bodily harm incident was due to "recklessness". "He apologised when the indictment was put, and he apologises now." He added that it was a "spontaneous and short lived act" and said Carty suffers from a mental disorder, as well as ADHD.
Sentencing Carty, Judge Prince said: "You are a drug addict and you have a history of drug abuse, but you have done nothing to address that drug abuse. Your offences of shop thefts and burglary were all committed to fund your addiction."
Speaking of the injury caused to the elderly woman, the judge added: "You ran towards the trolley, you were not running away from staff, you were trying to retrieve the stolen items, no doubt to make off. You ran across a zebra crossing and charged into her, causing her to fall over, before continuing to make off. The victim was in excruciating pain."
"This lady, who had such an active life, went shopping, meeting friends, all of that has been taken away from her by your actions. It was not an accident, it was created by your deliberate act of running across the crossing." Carty was jailed for three years.
