Adam Greener was armed with a silver revolver when he got into a woman’s car at the junction of Roman Road and Rockliffe Road in Linthorpe and said, “Drive or I’ll shoot you.”Under the influence of drugs, he tried to snatch the driver’s handbag from the passenger seat of the Peugeot 206, which was stationary in traffic.Greener, 20, of Westbourne Road, Middlesbrough, admitted two charges at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.He pleaded guilty to attempting to rob 46-year-old mum Kay Cotton, from the Eston area, of her handbag on January 15, and possessing a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to commit robbery.Prosecutor Ian West said: “She describes going back to her car after going to the shop.“A man, the defendant, gets into the passenger seat of the car. He says, ‘Drive.’“When she doesn’t immediately do that, he produces this weapon and says, ‘Drive or I’ll shoot you.’“The defendant accepts what Mrs Cotton says he said when he got into the car.”The hooded raider fled empty-handed, while Mrs Cotton got out of the car and was shaken but not injured.She was taken into a nearby shop and given a cup of tea to calm her nerves until police arrived and sealed off the area in Roman Road.Greener had been accused of attempted kidnap, but the Crown are no longer proceeding with that charge because of his guilty pleas.He had no previous serious crimes which would classify him as a dangerous offender.But if it is discovered that he had a prohibited weapon, he could face a minimum sentence of five years in prison.It has still not been confirmed for certain whether the weapon, found in Mrs Cotton’s car, was an imitation or real firearm.“There were apparently bullets in the chambers of this revolver, but the barrel was blocked at the bridge,” Mr West told the court yesterday.It is not certain whether it could be adapted to fire a lethal missile, he added. Experts are to be consulted, and there may be a court hearing to decide the issue.
Peter Sabiston, defending, said Greener was under the influence of Class C drugs at the time.
The judge, Recorder Michael Slater, adjourned sentencing until April 11 for reports to be prepared on Greener, who was remanded in custody. The attack was described as an “isolated incident”.
But it prompted Cleveland Police to urge drivers to take extra care when stationary in built-up areas, to lock doors while travelling, sound horns if in danger and not to leave bags on seats or in footwells.