A man said he would come to meet an online seller with cash – but instead he hit him and ran away with his smartphone.
The victim had advertised a Google Pixel 8 Pro for sale using the online platform Snapchat.
He received a message from Benny Reynolds, who offered to buy the phone and agreed to pay the seller £700 cash. The two arranged to meet outside a primary school, although this was later changed to a nearby cul-de-sac in Worlingham, Beccles.
The victim arrived at the location in a car with two friends, arriving at around 9.20pm and messaging the defendant to let him know he was there.
Reynolds arrived and the victim got out of the car with the phone in his hand. Reynolds said nothing, instead hitting the victim in the face just above his eyebrow, and grabbing the phone out of the man’s hands.
The victim fell backwards into the car and Reynolds ran away, clutching the phone.
Reynolds, now 21, was 18 at the time of the incident. Appearing before Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to the offence of robbery.
The court heard that the victim used to regularly sell items online, but had been wary of doing so since the incident.
Sentencing Reynolds, of Wilberforce Road, Norwich, Judge Samantha Leigh ordered him to pay the victim £1,000 in compensation, to reflect the loss of the phone and his injury.
Judge Leigh also handed Reynolds a prison sentence of one year, suspended for 16 months.
He will also complete 80 hours of unpaid work and up to 40 rehabilitation activity requirement days with the probation service.
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