Contempt of SICK yob who stole phone from man he left DYING in the road
A PAIR of thugs who rummaged through a dying man’s pockets to steal his mobile phone left court grinning and making rude gestures yesterday.
Scott Stephenson, 19, took the iPhone 4 from the 22-year-old victim as he lay in the street in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, while his friend Dale Walker, 25, looked on.
The victim’s body was found next morning, close to a playground.
A post-mortem examination showed he died of hypothermia in the horror last December.
The pair now face jail.
Stephenson admitted theft at South Tyneside magistrates court while Walker admitted handling stolen goods.
But they showed no signs of remorse after they were freed on bail to be sentenced next month.
They made offensive gestures, laughed and joked at shocked onlookers outside court.
The pair had been on the same train as the victim, who was not named in court.
They all got off at Chichester Metro station in South Shields.
They have taken away the one thing that would have allowed him to get help if he was able to
The victim suggested they go to one of their homes but Stephenson and Walker ran away.
The victim is then thought to have tripped in the road as he tried to run after them.
Stephenson and Walker, both of South Shields, returned 30 minutes later and found him unconscious in sub-zero temperatures.
Instead of calling an ambulance, Stephenson rifled through his pockets and stole the phone.
Keith Laidlaw, prosecuting, said: “They found him lying there.
"Stephenson said he was breathing and snoring.
"He searched his pocket and stole a mobile phone.
“Walker later said that he watched as Stephenson stole the phone.
"The victim was vulnerable, he was 22, just a young man.”
District Judge Helen Cousins committed the case to Newcastle Crown Court, where the pair will be sentenced on April 13.
She said: “They have taken away the one thing that would have allowed him to get help if he was able to.”
