Man jailed for dragging hospital visitor from car in robbery

A woman visiting her seriously ill husband at hospital was violently dragged from her car by a robber who then crashed the vehicle into a Tesco van.

Benjamin Griffiths, 35, from Rhos, Wrexham, has been jailed for 44 months after the terrifying incident at Heddfan hospital unit in Wrexham on 13 May.

Mold Crown Court heard the 67-year-old victim was parking her red Citroen C3 at around 2.15pm when Griffiths approached and shouted “give me your keys”. When she refused, thinking he was joking, he shouted again before reaching in, taking the keys, grabbing her by the arm and forcing her out of the car.

As the shocked woman screamed for help, a witness from reception tried to open the car door but Griffiths “forcefully” closed it. He then drove forward, hit a post, reversed into a parked Range Rover, and sped out of the car park.

Police spotted Griffiths on Ruthin Road where he crashed into a Tesco delivery van before swerving into a bush.

The victim said in a statement she was left in “total shock and disbelief” and struggled to sleep due to flashbacks. She now needs a friend with her when visiting her husband as she doesn’t feel safe in the car park. Her vehicle was written off.

The Tesco driver was left feeling anxious about driving, affecting his work. The Range Rover owner said her vehicle had belonged to her late father and holds sentimental value. It needs £2,000 in repairs she cannot afford, meaning she will have to sell it.

Defence barrister Anna Price told the court Griffiths “fully appreciates the impact of his actions and the potential impact of his actions. He was lucky there was not more damage or significant injuries or maybe worse.”

She explained he had suffered poor mental health since childhood and had voluntarily taken illicit drugs which affected his behaviour. “All this is because he wanted to kill himself. There had been fairly recent suicide attempts. That was at the forefront of his mind.”

Judge Simon Mills said Griffiths had been having “a mental health episode which had been aggravated by your deliberate decision to take amphetamines”. He told him it must have been “absolutely terrifying” for the woman and described the driving as a “ridiculously dangerous manoeuvre”.

However, the judge noted Griffiths had experienced mental health issues since he was four years old. He read out a comment from his mother that one day “he went to bed as one child and then woke up the next morning as another”. He also acknowledged his more recent diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Griffiths received 44 months for robbery, 12 months concurrent for dangerous driving, and two months concurrent for criminal damage to the Range Rover. He was disqualified from driving for five years and must pass an extended retest.