A woman lured vulnerable men she’d been talking to online to a house so that they could be robbed of cash.
Danielle Summers convinced both men – neither of whom had met her before – to come to a Chilwell property to see her.
The separate incidents started and finished the same way, with Summers firstly greeting her victims at the door and inviting them in.
She then made an excuse to leave the room, before a baseball bat-carrying man in a balaclava suddenly appeared and demanded cash.
The 32-year-old set up a trap to rob both men after befriending them online before then convincing them to visit her at a house in Martell Court.
She persuaded her first target to come over to watch TV with her on 19 April, with Summers inviting him into the living room before leaving to make a cup of tea.
Within seconds of her leaving the room, however, an unknown man in a balaclava sprang out of nowhere and threatened the vulnerable visitor with a baseball bat.
He was made to empty his pockets and hand over around £150 before eventually being allowed to leave the premises.
Summers used the same tactic to entice another man she’d met online and who had clear vulnerabilities.
After telling him a made-up story about having no money to pay her electric bill, the unsuspecting victim came round with cash to help her.
Once again, she invited the man in, immediately made up an excuse to leave, and was then suddenly replaced by a bat-wielding man in a balaclava.
The victim was made to hand over cash and his driving licence during an ordeal that lasted several minutes, before the masked attacker then permitted him to leave.
This second robbery happened on 24 April – less than a week after the first – with police identifying Summers, tracking her down and arresting her soon after that.
She always denied the two charges of robbery put to her, which prompted a trial to take place last month as a result.
The jury found her guilty on both counts, with Summers returning to Nottingham Crown Court to be sentenced on Monday (30 June).
Summers, of Marshall Way, Ilkeston, was subsequently jailed for five years.
Detective Constable Emily Whiteside, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“Both these men were subjected to a terrifying ordeal as a direct result of Danielle Summers’ actions.
“While she didn’t physically participate in the robberies and wasn’t the one carrying the weapon – as the judge rightly said – neither incident would’ve happened without her.
“After meeting them online, Summers knowingly manipulated two men with vulnerabilities into meeting up with her for the first time at a house.
“It was all a trick, however, as she was, in effect, setting up a trap that both victims sadly fell into that ended with them being forced to hand over cash.
“While neither man was injured during the robberies, it’s clear that they’ve been left deeply impacted by what happened to them.
“We hope the custodial sentence passed to Summers today provides them with some small degree of comfort.”
