Telford man accused of robbery fearful of repercussions
A Telford man accused of robbing and imprisoning a man in his own home did not reveal the identity of who he believed had committed the crime through fear of the repercussions.
Patrick Joseph Weston from Telford, is accused of going to the Broseley home of acquaintance David Devilliers along with an accomplice on the night of December 1, 2015.
He is accused of holding the victim down with a broom handle, while an accomplice searched the house and stole cash, a mobile phone, a watch, wallet and bank card.
It is alleged the card was used to ordered £32 worth of pizzas, and a £30 phone top up. The victim's keys were also allegedly snatched and used to lock him inside.
Weston, 36, of Purbeckdale, Dawley, Telford, denies robbery, false imprisonment and two counts of fraud.
At Shrewsbury Crown Court on Thursday, in his defence, Weston explained he had stayed at Devilliers' home during the breakdown of his relationship, before moving into a property with another male.
When arrested regarding robbery, after being told information by the police he believed he knew the identity of the culprit, but did not identify them.
He said: "I do believe I know who committed the robbery, but I did not make it known to officers.
"I had a fear of dropping people in trouble and the repercussions of that.
"I didn't want to be known as a grass, or as a snitch in the circles that I was involved in. My mother lived in the area, and the people I suspected were involved knew that.
"A lot of these people were not not nice people so to speak would have not been beneficial to me or the people around now."
He also said he didn't tell officers because the person he suspected had committed the robbery sold drugs to Mr Devilliers, who has a bi-polar affected disorder.
The court heard how on the night of the robbery, Weston had been staying in Dawley and had been out to McDonald's, and returning to the property where he was staying with an acquaintance.
That evening, his acquaintance had put a £30 top up on his mobile phone, and the top up was made from the bank card of Mr Devilliers. However Weston admitted that despite knowing the transaction wasn't straight forward, he didn't know it was the victim's card.
Brett Williamson, defending, said: "Did you commit any part in this robbery."
Weston replied: "None whatsoever."
In cross examination from prosecuting barrister Mr Tariq Shakoor, Weston was accused of changing his story from a previous case statement to make it look like someone else had committed the robbery.
He said: "You're making all this up aren't you." Weston replied: "No."
The trial continues.
