Man robbed pregnant woman & drove wrong way down Sheffield Parkway during 'out of control' crime spree

39-year-old Barney Cawley had already racked up a criminal record consisting of 115 previous offences when he went on his latest crime spree between March and April 2024, Sheffield Crown Court heard. 

Cawley’s barrister, Andrew Bailey, said he client was in the throes of a crippling cocaine addiction at the time of his 13 latest offences, which, Mr Bailey said, were ‘no doubt’ committed to fund Cawley’s addiction. 

A hearing held on October 25, 2024 heard how Cawley preyed upon, and robbed, a pregnant woman as she carried a bag of her belongings near to a hotel in Sheffield city centre where she was staying. 

“You followed her, you were close behind her, you were gaining on her. Eventually she turned a corner; and realising, as she did, that she was being followed, she hastened her step. You ran after her, and grabbed hold of her. 

“It was a classic street robbery,” The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, told Cawley, of Milnrow View, Parson Cross, Sheffield.

Cawley grabbing the woman caused her to drop her belongings all over the floor outside the hotel, and he subsequently stole a number of items, before running off with them, the court heard. 

Judge Richardson continued: “She, in terror, went into the hotel, asking for assistance. The look of terror on her face, revealed from the CCTV, reveals how troubled and anguished she was.”

The woman detailed, in a statement read to the court, how the robbery has affected her in a myriad of ways, such as causing her to feel unsafe in the city centre or in big crowds of people, and has exacerbated her anxiety and depression, for which she is receiving counselling.  

Two separate incidents of dangerous driving were among Cawley’s offences, said prosecutor Stuart Bell, the first of which saw him drive the wrong way down Sheffield Parkway twice causing other motorists to brake and take evasive action, run countless red lights, drive the wrong way up a ramp to a retail park off the Parkway, and travel 70mph in a 40mph zone. 

In the other, Cawley used a blue Hyundai vehicle, stolen from a single mother that morning, and once again drove on the wrong side of the road, ran red lights and sped through residential areas. 

The owner of the car, which was stolen by another, unnamed individual, revealed how she relied upon her vehicle to do her job as a carer, and was forced to quit after it was written off. 

While she received some compensation for the loss of the vehicle, it has not been enough to fund the cost of a new one, meaning she has found it difficult to find another job or to take her children out, the woman said in her statement to the court. 

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Mr Bell told the court that Cawley, through his dangerous driving, committed a series of other matters including driving without insurance, driving whilst disqualified and driving otherwise in accordance with a licence. 

Cawley struck again at a Sheffield business specialising in cladding and facades, breaking in at 3.25am, along with another unnamed associate, and stealing electrical equipment and tools worth around £3,000, the court heard. 

His final offences relate to the theft of over £230 of whisky, stolen from Tesco in three separate incidents over a 10-day period. 

At the time of Cawley’s crime spree he was the subject of a 24-month community order relating to more driving matters committed in June 2023, at the conclusion of which he crept into a resident’s house and assaulted them as he attempted to escape from the police officers pursuing him, the court heard. 

Cawley pleaded guilty to all 13 offences including robbery, burglary of a non-dwelling, handling stolen goods, dangerous driving and the other related driving matters at an earlier hearing. 

In mitigation, Mr Bailey told the court that in addition to a cocaine addiction, Cawley is also plagued by issues around his mental health and alcohol misuse. 

Cawley, said Mr Bailey, during his latest stint in custody on remand was given a ‘cocktail of drugs’ by another inmate, which resulted in him going into a coma for a number of days. 

“He was very ill indeed for a number of days, he tells me, and will have continuing health problems as a result of that,” Mr Bailey continued. 

Judge Richardson jailed Cawley for five years, 10 months.

He told him: “This is a very serious set of offences, warranting a substantial period of imprisonment.”

“You are bordering on the territory of being judged to be a dangerous offender, and unless you conquer your addiction to cocaine, I’m afraid your life is going to be utterly, utterly miserable, and you will go to prison for an exceptionally long time.” 

Judge Richardson also told Cawley he will be banned from driving for seven years, upon his release from custody, after which time he will be required to take an extended test.