Teen locked up for theft after knife threat in Gloucester alleyway

TEENAGER Zdenek Scerba has been locked up after stealing less than £5 from a soldier and his girlfriend while armed with a knife.

The 18-year-old of Stanley Road, Gloucester, was given 11 months for possessing a knife, battery and theft at Gloucester Crown Court.

Lee Maggs and his girlfriend Charlene Mills were approached by the Czech national and two others while walking in an alleyway near Widden Primary School on December 9, 2011.

Prosecutor Julian Kesner said he stopped the couple, asking for a cigarette.

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Mr Maggs was then punched in the face after his girlfriend was ushered away by two other men and Scerba pulled out the knife.

Scerba's friends were apologising to Miss Mills for what had happened and she managed to talk them into returning her handbag – although £4.80 of cash was stolen.

In mitigation, Paul Trotman said the knife was closed during the theft but Judge Jamie Tabor QC said anyone who produced a weapon in a public place deserved to go to prison.

He told Scerba: "You are fortunate indeed not have been charged with robbery. Had you been so I would have been obliged to send you to prison for at least three years."

In a previous hearing the judge praised the couple for attending Gloucester Crown Court.

Mr Maggs previously told the court: "The situation was quite frightening. I wanted to show some force to show I was not going to be messed with and that I was not an easy target.

"Then I thought 'I've got two daughters and it's not worth losing my life for this'."