Man who lured a teenager to a back alley and robbed him at knifepoint has been jailed for five years

Louis Rawlinson, 20, contacted the youngster on Facebook after reading a post from the 16-year-old, looking for an iPhone to buy.

Preston Crown Court heard Rawlinson, of New Church Road, Stacksteads, had previously stolen an Xbox from a family member but had been caught and ordered to return the console, or the money he had received for it, by the owner’s mum.

On January 7, the woman told Rawlinson if he did not return the console or the money that day she would go to the police.

Rawlinson had no means of paying the debt, but when he spotted a post on Facebook, offering £150 for an iPhone 6, he contacted the youngster and told him he had a handset for sale.

He arranged to meet the teen near his grandparent’s house but when they arrived, Rawlinson produced a knife and ran away with the cash.

As he left the scene in the dark, he shouted over his shoulder: “You’d better not snitch!”

There was no phone for sale, the court heard.

Following the robbery, the victim, who was known to Rawlinson, contacted Rawlinson’s mum, who told him to report the robbery to the police.

Rawlinson pleaded guilty to theft of the X-box and the robbery.

Judge Ian Leeming, sentencing, said: “As a result of this incident your victim does not go out when it is dark or on his own. He feels safer with other people with him.

“He only meets people he can trust and will no longer meet up with associates at night or alone.”

In 2014, Rawlinson was sentenced to 32 months in a young offenders’ institute after he and two others attempted to rob a local shop.

The trio had been drinking and taking drugs but when they ran out of cash, Rawlinson cut up a pair of leggings to make makeshift balaclavas and armed himself with a knife.

When they entered the shop, which was close to Rawlinson’s home, the cash desk was behind a screen and the robbery was unsuccessful.

Rawlinson had been instrumental in the plotting and execution of the plan, the court heard.

Judge Leeming branded the robber a dangerous offender and said previous sentences and work with the probation service had failed to rehabilitate him.

He handed Rawlinson a five year sentence with a two year extended licence period.