Man jailed for three and a half years for assault and attempt robbery in Ash Vale

A man who assaulted and attempted to rob a woman in Ash Vale in May has been jailed for three years and four months after pleading guilty to assault and attempt robbery when he appeared at Guildford Crown Court last Friday (21 June).

Florin Danut-Baloiu, 25, of London Road, Blackwater, Camberley, admitted following the victim, a 21-year-old woman, in his car and waiting for her near a cash machine on Thursday 23 May on Lysons Avenue in Ash Vale.

He then approached the woman, pushed her to the ground and attempted to pull her bag from her shoulders. Passers-by intervened and were able to prevent Danut-Baloiu from stealing the victim’s handbag. She suffered minor injuries as a result of the incident.

Danut-Baloiu fled the scenebut was arrested and charged following a thorough investigation by Guildford officers.

PC Joanna Merton said: “The sentence given to Danut-Baloiu reflects the severity of the attack and is a result of the hard work of the Guildford officers involved. We would also like to thank the members of public for their bravery in intervening and preventing the victim from suffering more serious injuries. They also provided extremely useful information which helped us locate and arrest the suspect as quickly as we did.”