This is the sickening moment an 82-year-old woman was floored and hurt by a shoplifter as he dashed out of a shop.
Mark Danville ‘deliberately’ pushed the woman over as he ran away from Heron Foods in Hull.
The victim, who suffered a broken finger, lost her mobility and independence as a result of her injuries, was too scared to make a complaint, fearing he may ‘find her and seek revenge’, Hull Crown Court heard.
Mark Danville ‘deliberately’ pushed the woman over as he ran away from Heron Foods in Hull on September 8
In separate incidents, Danville also stole his sister’s £400 iPad – which he sold for £12.50 to buy drugs and alcohol – and was caught on CCTV ‘grinning’ at the camera while trying to break a shop window with a scaffolding pole.
Danville, 34, and an unidentified accomplice, were caught on CCTV stuffing jars of coffee down their trousers on September 8, and fled when an alarm was activated and shop worker shouted ‘Oi, put that back!’, the court heard.
He argued with a judge about the incident when appearing over a video link from Hull Prison and was jailed for nine months.
Shoppers were seen watching him as he dashed away from the shop after stuffing the coffee down his trousers
After viewing the footage, Recorder Ray Singh told Danville: ‘Anybody who steals items from shops knows there’s a chance they are going to be tackled, and in your haste to try and escape your arrest and apprehension, you, in my view, deliberately pushed over an elderly lady.’
‘No, it was an accident,’ said Danville.
‘Please don’t make your position any worse, Mr Danville,’ said the judge. ‘I have come to the view that was a deliberate push.’
‘Yeah, well you’re wrong,’ said Danville.
Stephen Welch, prosecuting, said the victim was ‘in a lot of pain’ and had lost her mobility and independence, as she had been told to keep her arm in a sling and not move her bandaged finger for six weeks. This had made it a ‘struggle to bathe’ and she could not cook hot meals.
Danville, of no fixed address, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, theft from a dwelling, shop theft and criminal damage. He had 39 previous offences on his record
On September 15, Danville was caught by the city’s CCTV cameras trying to smash a window at Bronx clothes store in the city.
He struck the glass with ‘ferocity’ at least 12 times, failing to break the window but causing £1,000 of damage.
Mr Welch said at one point he ‘looks up, sees the cameras watching him and grins’.
Danville, of no fixed address, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, theft from a dwelling, shop theft and criminal damage. He had 39 previous offences on his record.
Claire Holmes, for Danville, said: ‘He’s extremely remorseful about his actions. He said he’s extremely ashamed about his assault on the old lady.’