Man jailed for mugging two vulnerable women within 48 hours

A man from Ellesmere Port has been jailed after he admitted to robbing two women in the town.

Iulian Doroftei appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday 6 June where he pleaded guilty to the robbery of two women.

The 42-year-old was sentenced to four years and six months in prison.

The charges relate to two separate incidents that occurred within 48 hours.

The first mugging took place at around 12:30pm on Saturday 11 December 2021. The 77-year-old victim from Neston was walking to her car on Heathfield Road in Ellesmere Port, when she was targeted by Doroftei from behind.

He forcefully removed the victim’s handbag before fleeing the scene, whereby the victim sustained bruising to her arm. It is reported that several items were stolen along with the handbag, including her mobile phone, a credit card, a diary and a hearing aid.

On Sunday 12 December, Doroftei approached his second victim, a 49-year-old woman from Ellesmere Port.

He spotted the victim when she was leaving her local public house at around 7:45pm and followed her to Wellesley Avenue, Ellesmere Port.

Doroftei followed the victim and attempted to take her handbag from her shoulder. The victim attempted to fight back and during the scuffle she was headbutted by Doroftei causing her to sustain a broken nose.

After knocking the victim to the floor, he went on to steal her mobile phone and purse along with various other items.

Doroftei’s downfall came after officers obtained CCTV capturing him using the stolen cards in a Shell service station and a local pub.

After further investigation, on the 15 December at around 3:00pm, officers were able to locate Doroftei outside a house in Ellesmere Port where he was detained and arrested.

Investigating Officer Detective Constable, Jake Connolly said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the victims for their efforts in helping our investigation following these attacks.

“I would also like to thank the team effort of Ellesmere Port CID and Proactive team who assisted in putting a stop to these callous robberies within our community. This was a terrifying experience for the victims who were subjected to a very frightening ordeal.

“Thankfully, we quickly established Doroftei as the man responsible for these robberies and he is now being held accountable for his actions."