Brighton thief trapped by victim's DNA (From The Argus)

Brighton thief trapped by victim's DNA

1:10pm Saturday 13th March 2010 in

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A violent thief was caught after he tried to sell a games console which was stained in his victim’s blood.

Shaun Forryan, 22, was among three robbers who attacked their victims after visiting a flat in Brighton to buy drugs.

The dealer and a friend were threatened with a meat cleaver and assaulted at the flat in St Michael's Place on the night of March 3 last year.

The two victims were tied up with TV cable before the robbers left with an Xbox games console as well as a mobile phone, Ipod, a laptop and wallet.

But Forryan, of Lavender Street, Brighton, was caught after he took the Xbox to the Money Exchange in St James's Street, two days later where suspicious staff contacted the police. Blood stains on the console matched one of the victims’ DNA.

Yesterday he was jailed for six years after he admitted robbery at Brighton Crown Court.

Forryan, who has a six-month-old child, was told by Judge Paul Tain: "Nobody should have the privacy of their home invaded in this way. It is a very serious case. You will miss the first part of your child's life because you will be inside."

Alan Gardner, prosecuting, said the robbers went to the flat and cannabis was purchased. But then one of the gang pulled out a meat cleaver from a bag and started waving it around threatening the two victims.

He said Forryan picked up a pair of scissors and punched one of the victims in the face, saying: "You are being robbed."

One of the robbers took the car keys from one of the victims and stole a vehicle, which was found abandoned in the city days later.

They turned the lights out in the flat leaving the two victims tied up on the floor, after threatening them not to go to the police.

The two other members of the gang were not traced.

Duncan Cooke, defending, said Forryan had gone to the flat to buy cannabis and knew the victim. He said Forryan was shocked and ashamed of his actions.

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