Danilo Furtado mugged a pensioner as the victim lay dying from a heart attack in Bury, Greater Manchester in August
A mugger who stole the wallet, phone and gold neck chain of a pensioner who lay dying at a tram stop from a heart attack will be free in less than a year.
Portuguese national Danilo Furtado, 35, has twice been deported from the UK having wracked up 32 previous crimes, but both times has returned to offend again.
In August this year, 73-year-old widower Charles Jackson became his latest victim after he collapsed from a heart attack at Bury Interchange late in the evening.
Cocaine addict Furtado was the first to find him, but rather than help the elderly man, he stole his possessions so he could sell them for drugs.
The theft meant that emergency services were unable to identify Mr Jackson and his family were not contacted before his death 13 hours later.
Furtado had 32 offences on his record including shoplifting, carrying a blade, drug possession and unlawful wounding. He was subject to a deportation order in 2014 and again in 2017 but ignored the orders returned to the UK. He has now been jailed for 20 months, of which he will serve half behind bars.
Following his jailing, Mr Jackson’s daughter Nichola Garton said her family were ‘robbed of spending those last precious hours of life’ with their father.
The theft meant that Charles Jackson’s family were unable to see him before he died
Ms Garton added: ‘Our dad could have potentially been semi-conscious when the first passer-by on the scene but he took the decision not to come to his aid, but to steal his gold cross and chain, his mobile phone and his wallet. There was no compassion, no humility and no conscience.
‘His inhumane actions were undisputedly deplorable, but more importantly, the consequences of these actions resulted in our Dad having no I.D documents upon his person.
‘When the emergency services were called, our dad was labelled with the term ‘unknown’. On arrival at the critical care unit he was “unknown”. When he was having the blood tests, the X-rays, the brain scans, the life preserving drugs, he was “unknown”.’
Mr Jackson’s daughter said: ‘Dad was one of the most charitable people you could ever hope to meet. He did not deserve to die in such an undignified and cruel manner’
‘My brother only discovered the news of our Dad’s passing, when he became increasingly concerned about his whereabouts, and decided to let himself into his flat, only to find two policemen waiting to deliver this painful news.
‘When we went to the hospital we discovered Dad had not only died alone, but had been referred to during his care here, as ‘unknown.’ The most heart-breaking and excruciating painful fear, was that our Dad passed away not just alone, but with the label ‘unknown’.
Police arrested Furtado after he and an accomplice sold Mr Jackson’s gold chain with crucifix to a Cash Generator store for £100. He had also tried to use the victim’s bank card.
His lawyer Paul Bryning said: ‘He believed the victim was just drunk and took advantage of that situation and stole the items for food and drugs.
‘He was unaware of the victim’s actual state at the time and he does wish me to extend to the court and the victim’s family his genuine remorse.’
The mugging happened as Mr Jackson lay dying at Bury Interchange tram stop in August
But the judge Mr Recorder Paul Reid QC told Furtado: ‘What you did was shameful, despicable and lacking in all humanity, Mr Jackson had collapsed and was plainly unwell, was bleeding from a head wound and instead of seeing if there was anything you could do to help you plundered his belongings.
‘Any decent human being can only have contempt for your behaviour.
‘The gravity of what you did isn’t to be measured in the value of the goods but in the impact it had on the ability of the police and ambulance service to identify Mr Jackson and the effects on his family.
‘If this had not been stolen it would have been possible for one of his children to have met the emergency service at the hospital and for the rest of his family to be at his side during his final hours.
‘Your actions prevented his family from spending those last precious moments with him.’
After the case Det Con Dave Potter of Greater Manchester Police said: ‘Furtado’s actions have shown that he has a complete disrespect for others and I hope this sentencing sends a clear message that this shocking behaviour will not be tolerated.
‘He preyed on a vulnerable man as he was suffering from a cardiac arrest and I honestly cannot comprehend that someone would stoop to such levels.’