Crime
Wisbech thief targeted elderly and vulnerable to steal their cash
A Wisbech thief stole from an 86-year-old man three times inside of 24 hours, a court was told.
On another occasion she targeted a man living alone, entered his flat, and stole his wallet and cash cards and took money from his account.
Katie Coleman, 42, targeted vulnerable and elderly people and took advantage of their generosity, the court heard.
She has been jailed for more than two years.
Katie Coleman, 42, would try to befriend her victims and get into their homes where she would take what money she could find.
Coleman, 42, would try to befriend her victims and get into their homes where she would take what money she could find.
She began pestering her first victim, a 49-year-old at his Wisbech home in December 2021, knowing his benefits had been paid.
Despite not being let in, Coleman persisted and eventually he loaned her £40, which she did not pay back.
On December 19, Coleman targeted another man living alone in Wisbech town centre, letting herself into his flat as he was about to go to sleep.
Katie Coleman, 42, would try to befriend her victims and get into their homes where she would take what money she could find.
When the 64-year-old victim woke about an hour later, he found his wallet was missing from his work trousers.
The following day, he found Coleman had used his bank card at the Post Office, in Norfolk Street, to withdraw £160 in cash.
She also stole from an 86-year-old man three times in 24 hours on December 27 and 28.
At about 10pm on December 27, Coleman let herself into the victim’s home and told him she needed to use the toilet.
She then sat down in the living room and went to put a can of cider she was drinking in a bin in the kitchen where she stole two scratch cards with a winning value of £9.
The victim also agreed to give Coleman £4 from an ashtray in his bedroom.
The following morning, Coleman once again burst in and stole £15 from a bedroom after claiming to need the toilet.
That same day, Coleman visited another man, asking for £100 and claiming her mother had died.
She made sexual advances, but the victim refused and tried to get Coleman off him.
In the struggle, Coleman assaulted him by putting her hand around his neck.
On Friday (23 June), at Peterborough Crown Court, Coleman, of no fixed address, was jailed for two years and six months, having pleaded guilty to five counts of theft, one count of harassment without violence, one count of assault, one count of burglary and one count of fraud.
Another count of burglary was ordered to lie on file.
DC Lily Deacon said: “Coleman shamefully targeted elderly and vulnerable people to steal money.
“She is a prolific offender in Wisbech so I am very happy she has been brought to justice as it will bring some closure to the many people who have been affected by her crime.”
In 2011 Coleman, then 31, was in court for blackmailing a 69-year-old cancer sufferer and robbing a stroke victim of her mobile phone; she was jailed then for four-and-a-half years.
Coleman, 31, blackmailed, threatened, and harassed the 69-year-old man, taking £2,000 from his savings over three months.
Cambridge Crown Court heard that Coleman would visit his Wisbech home, where he lived alone, and bang on the windows and door of his flat until he let her in.
The victim, who died of cancer prior to the court case, had come into contact with Coleman through his work but did not know her well.
Coleman denied blackmail right up to trial when she pleaded guilty.
She was jailed for two-and-a-half-years for the blackmail and another two years for robbing a 68-year-old stroke victim of her mobile phone.
One of her recent victims spoke about her on social media.
“She robbed and mugged and burgled while I was at home,” said the victim.
Another said: “Coleman robbed a disabled family of mine. She went through his house knowing he has mobility issues!
“She pushed him on his frame to the post office to get money. I know addicts who wouldn’t dream of doing what she does on a daily basis.”
And another victim recalled “when she took my nan’s bike from her garden and my nan had to try and get it off her; when my nan saw her, she chucked her off the bike – Coleman is a skank.”
