More jail for man who robbed tourist while on parole

Ordering that 28-year-old Glen Henry Beattie begin serving his new jail term from Thursday, Judge Geoffrey Miller praised the “spirited actions” of two workmen who caught Beattie by making a citizen’s arrest.

The Belfast Crown Court judge said that sadly Beattie’s was an all too familiar story of a young life being blighted by drug taking, leading to a dysfunctional lifestyle.

Beattie, from Forthriver Green, Belfast, with 35 previous convictions and currently serving the remainder of an eight-year sentence for two armed robberies on chemist shops, pleaded guilty to robbing a woman of a backpack on September 18 last year.

Prosecution barrister Gareth Purvis said the 68-year-old tourist was returning to her car when Beattie initially approached her and grabbed her backpack, before producing a knife and threatening to stab her.

Mr Purvis said the terrified woman let go, but that her screams for help were heard by two workmen who chased after Beattie in their van, eventually catching up with him in Belfast’s York Street.

Defence counsel Richard McConkey said at the time drug-abusing Beattie was still feeling the effects of the tranquilliser Zanex and that his offending was opportunistic and more akin to a street robbery or a mugging.

Mr McConkey said that the tranquilliser had often proved fatal for those abusing it, and that Hill had, in reality, been playing Russian roulette with his life. However, he was not using his drug abuse as an excuse and readily admitted his guilt and pleaded guilty.