A 27-YEAR-OLD old man who robbed a female pizza delivery driver in north Belfast has been jailed for a year.
Judge Philip Gilpin said vulnerable workers who provide a service late at night should be provided with "adequate protection" from the courts.
The judge sentenced Patrick Martin Johnston for the robbery and told him he would also serve a year on supervised licence after his release from jail.
Belfast Crown Court heard the early morning incident occurred in the Hartwell Place area on December 16 last year.
The driver was making a pizza delivery with a colleague when their vehicle was approached by a male who opened a door of their vehicle. He then 'elbowed' the worker, pinned her back in her seat then reached into the central console and stole two mobile phones and £80 in cash.
Johnston - who is currently housed in HMP Maghaberry - then made contact with the driver using one of the phones he had taken, and told her he would return both mobiles if she gave him £50, which he then raised to £100.
She returned to Hartwell Place at 3am in bid to retrieve the phones, and the same male then returned one of the phones.
The police were called, a description of Johnston was given and he was arrested by officers in north Belfast who recognised him from their local duties.
When he was interviewed later that day, he gave a largely 'no comment' response - and whilst he made the case he couldn't remember where he was at the time of the robbery, he initially claimed he was no-where near it took place.
Defence barrister Denis Boyd said Johnston accepted it was a "nasty offence" and he "apologised for it."
He added that Johnston - who is "under the radar of paramilitaries in the New Lodge area" - wants to move away from Belfast when he is released from prison.