Southend man jailed after cashpoint robbery and burglary
Harry Fryett left his victims suffering sleepless nights and nightmares
A Southend man's been jailed after a cashpoint robbery and burgling a woman's bedroom as she slept.
Harry Fryett struck a stranger around the head with a baton at a cashpoint on Southend High Street in the early hours of 10 December 2022.
His victim sustained a cut to his head, which required staples.
Fryett demanded £50 of cash, before making off on a bicycle.
He was later arrested on Southchurch Road, where the baton was seized, and the victim's cash recovered.
Whilst on conditional bail after being charged with robbery, Fryett then burgled a woman's home in Westcliff on 26 May 2023.
He told the woman, who was asleep after a night shift, "he was with the police."
She woke to him rifling through her drawers, and managed to grab a neckless he was wearing as he fled the address.
Fryett was later additionally charged with burglary after forensic analysis of the necklace returned a positive match for his DNA.
The 27-year-old, of Belle Vue Place, Southend, pleaded guilty to robbery and burglary charges at Basildon Crown Court on 26 February.
He was sentenced to four years and ten months in jail at the same court on 23 August.
Sleeplessness and nightmares experienced by Fryett's victims
The man attacked at the cashpoint said he was "struggling to sleep" and "reliving the incident" in his head.
"I kept thinking I should have done something different and playing out different scenarios about how I wouldn’t have ended up in Southend that evening.
"When I go out now, I am very wary of public spaces and seeing people about."
The woman burgled by Fryett said she still experiences and sleeplessness and has "the occasional nightmare" about it.
"I dream about the incident, especially due to what happened – waking up to find him in my bedroom. This invasion of my personal space and privacy has had a lasting effect on me.
"At first, I could not even leave the house, and it was only with the help of Victim Support that I have gained the confidence to leave the house."
Detective Constable Michelle Rawson, of the Southend Criminal Investigation Department, said Fryett had a "determination to keep committing serious crimes which terrified his victims."
"He flippantly thought he could get away with committing these brazen offences, but we were able to gather solid evidence against him and ensure he was left with little choice but to plead guilty.
"He showed little to no regard to the harm his offending caused.
"Our commitment to tackling serious offending, such as robbery and burglary, in the Southend area is consistent and unconditional.
"These offences left the victims with lasting physical and psychological trauma – they are serving lengthy sentences in their own ways for offending that simply should not have fallen victim to."