Harrogate woman with 30-year criminal record jailed for stealing from vulnerable man in "revenge"

Julie Rutherford, 53, went to the victim’s home in Knaresborough ostensibly to collect a £40 debt but ended up taking his wallet containing his wallet and bank cards, prosecutor Eleanor Durdy told York Crown Court.

She said the named victim handed over the money but then Rutherford grabbed his “man bag” which contained his bank cards, bus pass, gas card and two family photos.

“(The victim) pleaded with her not to take the bag which contained all his stuff,” added Ms Durdy.

Rutherford left with the wallet and used the victim’s cards to make two £250 cash withdrawals from a cash machine at the Co-op in Knaresborough.

The withdrawals were captured on CCTV and Rutherford was duly arrested. When asked by police what she had done with the £500 she had stolen from the victim, she said she had spent it.

She was charged with theft but denied the offence despite the evidence stacked against her. She was found guilty in her absence following a trial at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court and appeared for sentence at the Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday, August 30) after being remanded in custody.

The court heard that Rutherford, of Strawberry Dale, Harrogate, had 36 previous convictions for 77 offences dating back to 1988.

Ms Durdy said that Rutherford had “deliberately targeted the victim and used intimidation” to steal from him on April 20.

She said there was an element of “revenge” to the offence because Rutherford was aggrieved at the amount of time it had taken for the victim to repay the debt.

She said that Rutherford had failed to turn up for her trial at the magistrates’ court, which meant a bench warrant had to be issued for her arrest.

She was brought back before the court the following day and admitted failing to surrender to court custody.

Kelleigh Lodge, mitigating, said Rutherford was a drug addict and it was this addiction which had caused her past offending, notably theft and shoplifting.She said Rutherford was now recovering from her addiction and had since turned her life around.

Judge Simon Hickey told Rutherford: “What you did (to the victim) was very mean.

"You intimidated that vulnerable man, took his man bag and fleeced him of £500 (which was) a considerable amount of money for someone in his position.

"You were motivated, really, by revenge.”

Rutherford was jailed for 35 days, but this meant that she would be released from custody either immediately or imminently due to the time that she had already spent on remand.