Local news

Dear Resident

A man has been jailed in connection with a series of robberies committed across #Dacorum and #StAlbans.

Dorriano Dos Santos Ferreira Farias, aged 37, of no fixed address, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment at St Albans Crown Court on Friday (5 September) having been found guilty of:

• Three counts of robbery

• Three counts of possession of a bladed article

• Attempted robbery

• Theft

• Dangerous driving

He was also disqualified from driving for a total of seven years and must take an extended retest.

Dos Santos Ferreira Farias was arrested following an investigation by the Dacorum Local Crime Unit into several robberies and attempted robberies which occurred in February this year.

The offences included cards and cash being stolen from both an elderly man and a lone woman after they had used separate cash machines and cash being demanded at knifepoint in an underpass.

A moped linked to the offences was spotted by police on patrol in Hemel Hempstead on Monday 3 March. It made off and was followed, before the pursuit continued on foot.

Thanks to the efforts of local officers on the ground and support from the National Police Air Service (NPAS), Dos Santos Ferreira Farias was tracked hopping through gardens in Hemel Hempstead and arrested a short while later.

A knife was found in the carry compartment of the moped.

Following charges being authorised, he was remanded into custody ahead of his trial.

Detective Constable Sarah Scanlon, who led the case, said: “These robberies were extremely frightening for the victims, with Dos Santos Ferreira Farias targeting mainly elderly people and lone females. His actions have had a lasting impact on them all.”