One mother cried out in fear as she desperately tried to protect her child when knife-wielding robbers stole her car in a Snapchat setup.
Courtney Slater gave terrifying screams as she was dragged out of her car and Tyrese Chisholm held a knife to her neck.
The 21-year-old escaped with her two-year-old son Lekai, who was sitting in the back, before Chisholm and two other robbers raced off in their Renault Clio.
CONTINUE READING : A 42-year-old man who was taken to the hospital after a huge rescue operation in the crane
Ms. Slater and her partner Brandon Higgins were attacked in Gorton after he arranged to sell two pairs of Louis Vuitton sunglasses and a Louis Vuitton men’s bag on Snapchat.
They were lured to the scene as part of a planned robbery.
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Chisholm, 18, Brandon Smith, 21, and Kaydn Jones, 19, have all now been incarcerated.
The horrific car theft was captured on camera and the footage was played in court.
Regarding Chisholms and Ms. Slater’s ‘screams of terror’, the judge said: “I hope he never forgets to see this recording.”
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Chisholm asked Ms. Slater to take her son out of the car before he drove away.
She told of the horror that her child had to go through such an ordeal.
“The thing that touches me the most is knowing that my two-year-old had to go through this and see me in the state I was in,” she said in a statement.
“The thought of how stiff and calm it was in my arms breaks my heart.
“The most precious thing in my life has been put at risk.
“I don’t feel like life will ever be 100 percent the same again.”
“This was a deeply shocking and utterly hideous incident,” said Judge Patrick Field QC.
“It is not surprising to hear that it had a profound impact on the victims of these crimes.”
The judge said it was lucky they weren’t seriously injured.
Ms. Slater said she has suffered panic attacks and mental health issues while her partner said she “doesn’t feel safe” and is considering moving.
Chisholm, then 17 and now 18, the gang leader, was sentenced to four years in a juvenile detention center.
Jones, who also waved a knife, was sentenced to three years and eight months. While Smith, who was unarmed, was imprisoned for three years and four months.
“All that bothered me was my child … that’s all that matters to me”
In response to the judgments, Ms. Slater said that Manchester Abendnachrichten : “I don’t think it was long enough, I have to live with it and they got about three years, they’ll probably be out in half that time.
“I hope I can get over it, but it’s still pretty fresh.
“I just hope they grow up, I hope they learn their lesson now.
“It was just stupid, what do you get out of it?
“The car means nothing to me, it can be replaced.
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“That’s all that bothers me, my child, that’s all that is important to me.”
Ms. Slater says she can’t be home alone and that gets nervous when she sees people with their hoods open near their car.
She said: “I want to leave Manchester. I don’t like it here. I don’t feel safe here anymore. “
Manchester Crown Court heard that on the morning of the robbery, June 17th, Mr Higgins had put the items up for sale on Snapchat for £ 400.
He was contacted by an unidentified Snapchat user.
They agreed to meet later that day, but the Snapchat user said he was just a “broker” for the person who wanted to buy the items.
Just before 7 p.m., Mr. Higgins arrived on Clumber Road with Mrs. Slater.
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While he was talking to Jones, one of the robbers, Chisholm ran up to Mr. Higgins, grabbed him, and told him to hand everything over.
After Mr. Higgins struggled, Chisholm fell on his chest with a knife.
Mr. Higgins sprinted away and was followed when they stole the sunglasses, Louis Vuitton bag and his iPhone.
The robbers then turned to Ms. Slater, who was sitting in her car with her son.
Chisholm dragged her out of her car with the tip of a knife because the knife was being held “close to her neck,” said District Attorney Neil Fryman.
Her top was torn and he demanded that she get her child out of the car.
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She did, and Chisholm drove off in the vehicle with Jones and Smith.
Mr. Higgins and his brother then tried to chase them in a car, but they escaped.
He used the phone tracking app on an old phone to find out where they had gone.
The car was later found locked on nearby Manby Road.
The robbers were captured using phone tracking software, CCTV retrieval of their movements, and the confiscated clothing.
Chisholm has a “terrible” record of previous convictions for a man his age, the court heard, including a knife-edge robbery.
In an attempted robbery in 2017, two boys were attacked and designer sneakers were stolen.
And in a robbery that year, a victim was beaten and a Canada Goose jacket was stolen.
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Jones and Smith had no previous convictions.
Smith’s attorney said the defendant only met Chisholm in passing because their partners lived in the same place.
Smith, of Wild Clough, Hyde, didn’t meet Jones until the day of the robbery, said attorney David Bentley.
“The plan was for them to take the taxi they came in,” said Chisholm’s attorney Ian Johnstone.
“The taxi drove and he said he panicked.
“He didn’t know there was a small child in the car.”
Mr Johnstone said there was no plan to rob the car and he had acted “impulsively”.
Smith had made “good money” as an apprentice chef before the attack.
His character has a “completely different” side and he “deeply regrets” his actions, said his lawyer.
Jones, of Rock Street, Salford, is ashamed of the “bold” attack, said his attorney.
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“Where he’s from, this type of insult can stigmatize him for some time,” said Michael Johnson.
“He can’t complain about that.”
Mr Johnson said Jones left school and went to college where he completed the first year of a professional course, but he failed to get through the second.
Jones “had too much time” and started “hanging around” smoking cannabis because of a lack of “structure and direction,” he said.
Chisholm of Heathcote Road, Gorton, sent a letter to the court saying he was deeply sorry, his lawyer said.
He had a “traumatic upbringing” and had dealings with “older negative peers”.
All three pleaded guilty to robbery in two cases.
Chisholm also admitted threatening Ms. Slater with a knife, disqualifying her and driving without a license.
Jones also admitted to owning a knife.
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The trio will serve half of their sentences on remand before being released.
Chisholm was sentenced as a teenager for being 17 years old when he pleaded guilty.
After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Helen Fletcher of GMP’s Operation Valiant said, “This was a terrible ordeal for the victim and his partner, as well as for their young child who saw his mother being dragged out of a car with the tip of a knife.
“Fortunately, no one was injured in the robbery, but the end result could have been much worse considering their actions behind bars.
“I hope this is a strong warning to anyone who believes they can commit any type of violent robbery and get away with it without consequence. GMP will do everything in its power to ensure that you are identified, located and brought to justice. “
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