A brother and sister have been jailed this week for robbing an elderly Birmingham man they knew.
Hayley Fisher, of no fixed address, and Colin Fisher, of Institute Road in Kings Heath, became aware that a 75-year-old Kings Heath resident was due to withdraw some cash from a bank in the area on Monday 27 April.
As he arrived home during the height of the Covid-19 lockdown, the two siblings, who had no care for social distancing, ambushed him at his front door and searched his clothing for the cash. They escaped with over £100 from the property on Kings Terrace that day.
After the incident was reported to Police, Police officers fitted the pensioner’s home with a camera and when Hayley turned up again on Sunday 17 May, her voice was recorded when she jumped over his garden fence and forced her way in. That day she didn’t get any cash when she confronted the man, but bizarrely, took some milk, sugar and cakes.
Hayley Fisher, a self-confessed drug addict, was eventually arrested in July after Police issued an appeal to trace her. The 37-year-old had managed to evade police for two months and despite answering “no comment” to every question put to her, she later pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday 25 August and sentenced to four years and two months in prison. She was also handed a five year restraining order and ordered not to contact the victim.
Her 40-year-old brother Colin Fisher was arrested on suspicion of robbery from his home address in May and was sentenced on the same day as his sister this week. He was given three years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to robbery and must also adhere to the conditions of the same restraining order.
DC Paul Jauncey from the force’s High Harm team, said: “We will not let up on catching people who steal and cause distress to people who are simply trying to peacefully go about their lives, especially those who are the most vulnerable in our communities.
“I hope this can offer some comfort to the victim knowing we did all we could to catch those responsible and bring them to justice. Thankfully, they’ve been handed quite a lengthy sentence for the offences they committed.”