Huddersfield street mugger Thomas Roderick has sentence cut at Court of Appeal

Sep 16 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A TEENAGE mugger who targeted schoolboys has had his sentence reduced on appeal.

Thomas Roderick, 19, had been found guilty of two “mean” street muggings and was sentenced to four years’ detention at Leeds Crown Court in April.

But yesterday his case went before the Court of Appeal and Roderick, of Hillhouse Lane, had his sentence cut to three years.

He will serve half before being released on licence.

Roderick had just been released from another robbery sentence when he committed his latest crimes.

But Mr Justice Flaux, sitting with Lord Justice Hooper and Mr Justice Spencer, decided the sentences running consecutively made the overall term too long.

The court heard that on October 29 last year Roderick accosted a 15-year-old boy cyclist in Halifax Old Road. He rode off on his bicycle after threatening to beat him up.