The one man crimewave who has been in and out of cells since aged 11
A Barnsley man who launched his criminal career at the age of just 11 has been put behind bars again after he used a BB gun to threaten his neighbour and steal her handbag.
Shane Charlotte, now 44, of Greenset View, burst into the woman's home in Wood Park View wearing a balaclava and brandishing an imitation firearm on March 2 this year.
Sheffield Crown Court heard on Thursday the 72-year-old woman was at home with her teenage grandson and his girlfriend at around 6.30pm when Charlotte attacked. Prosecutor Camille Morland said: "The front door was unlocked and the defendant suddenly came into the house and into the kitchen. The woman was downstairs on her own sat at the table.
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"She went on to say he came right up to her and was in her sight for a couple of seconds. She didn't recognise him but he shouted, 'Give me your f****** money Mary.'
"He had a firearm in his right hand. She described it as a handgun and said it looked real to her. He was wearing a black balaclava and black clothing. He moved quickly towards her bag and grabbed it. He turned as if he was going to leave and she grabbed her bag and he pushed her. She hit the table with the top of her back..."
The woman shouted for her grandson who met Charlotte at the bottom of the stairs. Charlotte then "pointed the gun" towards the boy's face and told him: "I'll f****** shoot you" before leaving.
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Ms Morland said: "He [the boy] said he believed he was going to be shot and was in fear for his life. The police were called as soon as the defendant had left."
The court was told Charlotte had used a BB gun in the crime. He went on to use the woman's bank card at a nearby Nisa store, where he was known as a regular customer. He made three purchases, coming to the total values of £5.95, £64.10 and £29.33. He was identified by the shop keeper and an officer from a CCTV clip.
Charlotte went on to admit three counts of fraud, two counts of possession of an imitation firearm and one count of aggravated burglary.
Ms Morland said Charlotte already had 81 offences on his record, and the court heard he first appeared when he was just 11-years-old. His previous convictions included those for offences such as violence, damage, burglary, public order offences and drug offences.
Mitigating, Emily Hassell, said: "There is no evidence she was targeted on the basis of her vulnerability... When the bank card was used in the local shop, low value goods were purchased and given he was a well-known regular user of the shop, the fact he would have been identified by the shop keeper would have been known to him, which the defence says supports a lack of planning.
"It's accepted that in terms of his clothing - that being the balaclava - and the carrying of an imitation firearm, the offence of course has some degree of planning and organisation."
His Honour Judge Slater jailed Charlotte for seven years and told him he must serve two-thirds of that sentence in custody before being released on licence.