A COVENTRY pensioner who has been assaulted, had her home burgled, and money stolen from her building society account by her own daughter says she cannot take it anymore.
And at her request, a judge at Warwick Crown Court has imposed a restraining order banning her daughter Kelly Reeves from going to her home.
Reeves (41) who was living at the Salvation Army hostel in Coventry at the time, had pleaded guilty to two charges of assault by beating, burglary and two offences of fraud.
After the judge heard she had been in custody for the first time while on remand, she was sentenced to a total of 16 months in prison suspended for two years and ordered to take part in a rehabilitation activity.
Prosecutor Philip Brunt said the victim of all of Reeves’ offences was her 73-year-old mother Doreen, who suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.
“There had been difficulties between her and her mother in the early part of this year which had resulted in a number of phone calls to the police.”
Reeves had been staying at her mother’s home in Three Spires Avenue, Coventry, but because of the problems between them, her mother no longer wanted her there, and she moved out.
But a couple of months later on April 24, Mrs Reeves was in the kitchen, having left the back door open to let the dog out, when Reeves, who had got into the back garden, walked in.
Reeves, whose brother was in the house, put her finger up, telling her mother to ‘shush’ when Doreen tried to tell her she should not be there.
She said she had come for some bank documents, but then said she wanted money, and wanted her mother to take her to a cash machine to get some.
When her mother refused and picked up the phone to call the police, Reeves tried to get it from her and grabbed her by the face with both hands before punching her to her upper arm.
Reeves’ brother Stephen Jenkins came down and saw what was happening, and the police were called and arrested Reeves who was still there when they arrived at the house.
She was bailed with a condition not to go back to the house, but returned on May 3 while her mother was in the garden.
Her mother said she should not be there and went inside and locked the door, but then had to go out, and as she got into her car Reeves approached, saying she wanted a bag from the back of the car.
Doreen unlocked the rear door so she could get it, but Reeves reached forward, unlocked the front passenger door and got in, pulling her mother back as she tried to get out.
Doreen, who has said she was ‘terrified of her,’ shouted at a neighbour to call the police and managed to get away and back into the house.
Three days later Mr Jenkins found Reeves in the kitchen and alerted his mother who saw her putting things into carrier bags before leaving as the police were called.
Among the items she had stolen was her mother’s old building society pass book which she then used to withdraw £250 from her mother’s account after persuading staff it was her account and that the current book had been stolen.
But when she tried again three days later, the cashier checked the date of birth on the account and realised it did not match Reeves who quickly left when she was challenged about it.
Asking for a restraining order, Mr Brunt said that in a statement Doreen Reeves commented: “I can’t take the abuse any more, either emotionally or physically.”
Lee Masters, defending, said Reeves, who had never been to prison before, had been in custody since mid-July.
He said that with the help of the Probation Service she had kept out of trouble since 2011, but personal problems had led to her becoming addicted to heroin and crack cocaine which had led to the offences against her mother.
But since being in custody she had been tackling her drug habit ‘and intends to continue that when released.’
Sentencing Reeves, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano also made a restraining order banning her from going to her mother’s home for 12 months.
The judge told her: “Clearly things got to a very bad state indeed. You have heard how frightening it was for her.
“But you have been in prison for some time now. In order to stay out in the future, you’re going to have to work on the drugs in particular. I have every hope you will comply with this order and get your life back on track.”
