A vicious mugger who dragged a 92-year-old woman along the pavement after escaping from a mental health unit has been jailed.
Sanchez Edwards, 28, targeted the recently-widowed woman, Gladys Scriven, in broad daylight as she was out posting a letter.
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She is now too terrified to leave her house following the horrific attack in Hoxton, north London.
Graphic pictures released by police revealed the ‘appalling’ injuries she suffered in the terrifying ordeal.
Edwards, a paranoid schizophrenic of no fixed address with a history of drug abuse, was sentenced to five years and eight months behind bars at Wood Green Crown Court today.
He was also deemed dangerous under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and will have to serve at least two-thirds of his sentence.
Edwards will only be released with the agreement of the Parole Board, and the judge imposed an extended three years’ on licence after he completes his sentence.
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An order was also imposed by the judge under the Mental Health Act, and he will remain in a hospital under the supervision of hospital staff.
Doctors will decide when the restriction will cease and he will then serve the remainder of his sentence in prison.
He had pleaded guilty at the same court last August to one count of robbery and has been remanded in custody since that time.
Sentencing Edwards, Judge Joanna Greenburg told him: ‘You cannot have failed to realise she was elderly.
‘She was dragged for two metres. You then ran off.
‘The CCTV shows you have followed her, clearly targeting her as she was elderly. The offence is so serious that an immediate custodial sentence is the only option.’
Edwards had three previous convictions for robbery, the court heard.
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Judge Greenburg also said that there was a significant risk Edwards would commit further offences and cause serious physical or physiological harm to one or more people.
Edwards attacked the frail OAP in Hoxton Street at about 2.40pm on the afternoon of June 27th last year.
She had just turned into an alleyway that leads to a medical centre.
But Edwards had followed her from the street into the alleyway, and as she entered the grounds of the medical centre, she was attacked by the brute from behind.
He grabbed her handbag and made several attempts to pull it away from her, forcing her to the ground.
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The victim screamed and refused to let go of her bag and Edwards dragged her along the floor until she was in so much pain that she eventually let go.
A Crimestoppers reward was secured for information leading to his capture and images were released from various sightings in a bid to warn the public not to approach him.
The case also featured on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme.
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