A despicable robber who ripped jewellery from two women in their nineties has been locked up for seven years by a judge who wants him kicked out of the country.

Marion Pokuta, a drug-addicted odd- job man who targeted elderly people in their homes, was branded “wicked and cowardly”.

A 94-year-old woman died two months after the Slovakian national wrenched the wedding ring she had not removed for 60 years from her finger.

Pokuta, 22, came to the UK when he was 17 because his family wanted a better life, Bradford Crown Court was told yesterday.

He pleaded guilty to robbing Laura Clarke, 92, of two gold chains from round her neck after pushing her to the floor at her home in Great Horton, Bradford, on November 4.

Prosecutor Philip Adams said Pokuta demanded a glass of water and walked uninvited into the house.

He pushed Mrs Clarke, who walks with a stick, to the ground and snatched her jewellery.

While on bail, he robbed Doris Burnett, 94, of Great Horton Road, Bradford, on January 16.

The court heard it was the third time Pokuta, of Falcon Street, Great Horton, had targeted the dementia sufferer in her home.

In December, 2010, he twice stole money from her, receiving a four month jail sentence.

Mr Adams said Mrs Burnett had lived in her terrace home for 13 years, supported by her family.

She was left deeply distressed and shocked after Pokuta tore her wedding ring from her finger.

Mrs Burnett moved to a nursing home and died of a stroke on March 27.

Although suffering from dementia, she would tell the home manager about the man pulling off her wedding ring.

“It had a profound effect on her in the final months of her life,” Mr Adams said.

Pokuta’s solicitor advocate, Kam Dhesi, mitigating said his family was horrified and ashamed.

On his release, Pokuta was starting a new life with relatives in Germany.

But Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC told Pokuta: “I wish I could order your deportation.

“What you did was wicked and cowardly and it disgusts the onlooker.”

After the case, Detective Constable Sean Donoghue, of Bradford South CID, said: “These were disgraceful and despicable acts against some of the most vulnerable members of our community.

“Pokuta targeted his victims in the full knowledge that they would not be able to defend themselves and would succumb to superior force.

“The fact that he physically pulled a wedding ring from the fingers of one of his victims is a clear indication of his conscienceless character.”

 

Meanwhile, frail pensioner Laura Clarke yesterday revealed that the shock of being robbed in her home by Marion Pokuta almost killed her.

Two days after the robbery she suffered a heart attack and spent a week in hospital getting over the ordeal.

She described to the Telegraph & Argus the terrifying moments that followed when she answered what she thought was an innocent knock at her front door.

After Pokuta demanded a glass of water and strode uninvited into her home, he knocked Mrs Clarke to the floor and then ripped two gold chains from her neck.

The great-great grandma said she thought her attacker would have got more than the seven years he received but she was just glad he would finally be behind bars.

“I’m lucky compared to some of his other victims but it very nearly killed me – I must have had a guardian angel looking over me that day.

“I’m getting over it a bit better now but I couldn’t sleep for a while. It still comes back into my head whenever there’s a knock on the door and I never answer it alone,” she said.