Man jailed for theft and cashpoint robberies in Moston

A man who targeted lone women stood at cashpoints or walking down the street with a handbag in Moston has been sentenced to four years and six months in jail.

Nathan Shepherd (16/02/1989), of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to four counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery and one count of fraud relating to a series of incidents in late January and early February.

He was sentenced yesterday (Monday 8 June 2020) at Manchester Crown Court.

The court heard how a majority of Shepherd’s offences took place at one particular cashpoint on Moston Lane where he would wait behind a woman withdrawing cash before forcing them out of the way to grab the money from the machine.

In total, Shepherd targeted five women in the space of a fortnight and committed fraud against one of the women whom he stole their bank card from.

Shepherd’s first victim was withdrawing money from the cashpoint on Moston Lane on the afternoon of Monday 27 January when he shoved her out of the way and stole £50 from the machine during a struggle with the woman.

He robbed another woman on Wednesday 5 February at the same cashpoint in a similarly forceful manner, and on Friday of the same week he grabbed the bag of a woman on Holtby Street in Harpurhey and made off with her bank card where he proceeded to make £80’s worth of transactions.

Shepherd targeted the Moston Lane cashpoint for a third time on the morning of Saturday 8 February when he reached across and stole £100 that had been ejected from the machine and fled despite the victim’s best attempts to stop him.

It was later that day that the 31-year-old committed his final offence when he again loitered around the cashpoint on Moston Lane and grabbed the arm of a woman before dragging her to the ground.

He tried to grab her bag from her grasp and failed, leading to a frantic tussle to ensue before Shepherd made off down the road empty-handed while being pursued by members of the public.

He was later arrested and subsequently charged with four counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery and a further count of fraud, before pleading to all six charges.

Police Constable Clare Smith, of GMP’s City of Manchester North Neighbourhood team, said: “Nathan Shepherd committed a series of despicable acts targeting innocent woman going about their daily lives and I hope this verdict offers comfort to the five victims at the hands of this man.

“Not only have these women suffered financially, psychologically and sometimes physically as a result of his actions, but the community as a whole were becoming increasingly anxious about the nature and frequency of these offences by Shepherd.

“I hope they can take reassurance that we will do everything within our power to ensure that such offenders will be put behind bars for their attacks on members of our community.

“I would like to pay tribute to the courage shown by the victims during this case and also to members of the public who helped ultimately detain this man and demonstrate how solidarity in society can overcome the minority who seek to do others harm.”