Cycling bag-snatcher caught thanks to GPS technology

A cycling bag-snatcher who targeted women on bikes has been sentenced to four years in prison after GPS technology was used to track him. 33-year-old Lee Henry of Cheltenham admitted four robberies, four thefts and one attempted theft at Gloucester Crown Court.

Judge Jamie Tabor described how Henry would ride up to his victims on his bike and push them off theirs before snatching their bags. Henry, who has a number of previous convictions, committed the thefts over a three-month period. The Gloucestershire Echo reports how he was identified because he was wearing an ankle tag during some of the crimes.

Cheltenham PC, Tom Dunford, was pleased with the conviction.

“These were cowardly and violent attacks by Lee Henry over the course of several weeks on unsuspecting and vulnerable women during the hours of darkness. Some of them were left extremely traumatised as well as injured.”

Dunford went on to say that the conviction had come following a long police investigation which had demanded forensic analysis to match Henry’s fingerprints to stolen property. He described the sentence as ‘well deserved’.

In 2012, Henry was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment after breaking into a house and taking £1,100 worth of property in a bid to help his brother raise money to pay off a drug debt.