Stab threat on train ends in prison term
4:43pm Monday 20th October 2008 in Where I Live
A MAN who threatened to stab a terrified woman train passenger has been jailed for three years and three months.
Mark Stimpson, 22, of Chapel Fields, in Harlow, told the 33-year-old woman on a Sawbridgeworth train bound for Tottenham Hale station that she “owed him money” before telling her he “could stab her” and take her money in the incident on November 3 last year.
Despite the victim ignoring Stimpson, he continued to harass her, moving to a seat behind her – where he tried to reach into her bag.
Unperturbed by her attempts to fend him off, Stimpson followed the woman off the train at Tottenham Hale Station, north London, and tried once more to steal her purse as she rode an escalator.
A jury at the Old Bailey heard in August that the victim was left traumatised by the incident.
British Transport Police officers circulated his image from CCTV footage before Stimpson was arrested in a covert police sting in December as he tried to steal a bike from Cheshunt Railway station.
Despite denying it was him in the CCTV pictures, a jury unanimously found him guilty of attempted robbery and attempted theft.
Sentencing Stimpson last Tuesday (October 7), Judge Gerald Gordon told him that he had “a dreadful record.”
He said: “The serious nature of this offence and the fear the victim suffered, has and will, continue to have a long-term effect on her.”
Detective Constable Tim Keep said: “This was a calculated attack on a lone woman who suffered a terrifying experience which left her traumatised as a result.
“Stimpson is a prolific offender who very clearly gave no thought or attention to the consequences of his actions, and he will now have to pay a heavy price for them.”
He added: “Today’s result sends out a clear message that BTP and the courts will not tolerate those who seek to threaten and torment innocent individuals travelling on the railways.”
