A 22-year-old St. George's man deemed to be "violent" in nature was sent to prison for three years after robbing and beating a man.

Rickai Tessfer Dickinson, of Clarence Street, St. Georges, pleaded guilty in Magistrates' Court yesterday to robbing Christopher Smith, using force in the process and causing him actual bodily harm on November 3, 2007.

Crown counsel Cindy Clarke said Mr. Smith and his wife had been enjoying an evening at The White Horse Tavern on King's Square in St. George's. The couple left the bar to go home in the early hours of the morning.

Outside, Dickinson, along with another unknown man approached Mr. Smith and tried to grab his wallet, however, Mr. Smith was able to thwart this attempt before escaping to his home nearby.

Dickinson and his accomplice, not before the courts, followed the couple to their residence and attacked Mr. Smith while outside, kicking and punching the man while he was on the ground, before removing his wallet.

It contained $125 in cash, a debit card and other personal items. Mr. Smith's glasses, valued at $200, were also broken as a result of the attack.

Dickinson and his accomplice made good their escape and the victim was left with an injury above his eyebrow and swelling to his face and body.

Neighbours, alerted by the attack, called Police and an ambulance was dispatched to the scene.

Days later, Police arrested Dickinson in Hamilton, who admitted to attacking Mr. Smith, although he claimed the wallet only contained $10.

In court, it was revealed he had an extensive criminal history, which included robbery, actual and grievous bodily harm, wilful damage and was sentenced to a year's prison term for one of the offences.

It also turned out that Dickinson committed the latest offence while out on bail awaiting sentencing for one of the previous matters, for which he was convicted.

Pre-sentencing reports read out in court suggested he had a "propensity toward violence", had an alcohol and cannabis addiction problem, having used cannabis since age 14, as well as social issues.

Before sentencing, Dickinson told the court: "I'm remorseful for what I've done, I never approached nobody in no club to get no wallet from anybody. I'm at your mercy."

"I must consider your previous convictions which indicate you are a violent man — a particularly violent man," Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner said. He said he had taken Dickinson's remorse and guilty plea into consideration before handing down a three-year prison term for the robbery plus three years probation.

And, for unlawfully assaulting Mr. Smith, Mr. Warner handed down a 12-month prison term, to run concurrently.