Jail for Scarborough Knife-Point Robber Who Was "Acting Like A Gangster"

A 20-year-old Scarborough man has been sentenced to over six years in prison after robbing a vulnerable woman at knife-point and refusing to provide his phone passcode to detectives.

Scarborough man Leon Upson has been jailed for six years and four months after pleading guilty to carrying out a knife-point robbery on a vulnerable woman.

The 20-year-old also admitted failing to provide the passcode to his mobile phone to detectives in connection with the investigation, which breached a Section 49 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) notice.

Upson was sentenced today (Wednesday 29 July 2026) at York Crown Court having pleaded guilty to the offences on 20 July.

He also received a 10-year restraining order to protect the victim and her whole family.

The knife-point robbery happened on Monday 29 December last year.

The victim, a local woman aged in her 40s, had been socialising at a friend’s flat on Longwestgate during the afternoon and into the early evening.

Between 5pm and 6pm, the victim agreed to an associate’s request to go and meet with an unknown man - later identified as Upson - to hand over a quantity of cash.

She then headed back the friend’s address and sat down on the sofa.

Around half an hour later there was loud banging on the front door of the address, and her friend went to open it and see who it was.

Upson came into the property, and the victim recognised him as the man she had given the cash to a short time ago.

The victim said Upson stormed into the living shouting “I want my f***ing money” while carrying a brick in his hand.

She described how Upson then armed himself with a 10-inch silver kitchen knife and threatened to stab her.

Upson, she said, then demanded that she gave him her bank card and PIN as compensation.

The victim said she was in fear for her life as Upson stood there shouting and threatening her with a brick and ten-inch kitchen knife, thinking she would get stabbed if she did not comply with his demands.

She provided him with her bank card and PIN which he wrote down. She told him that she had money going into the account at midnight. Upson then left with it.

The victim stayed at the address and at around midnight on 30 December, Upson returned to the property and made further threats to the victim to obtain money.

Fearful for her life, the victim said she attempted to reassure Upson that her mother would be depositing money into the account for him to use.

He stated he would return at 8am the next day, but there was no sign of him.

In fact, on 3 January 2026, he was arrested for an unrelated matter. Officers found the victim’s bank card concealed in a handbag in a hotel room that he had been staying in by himself.

The victim later took part in identification procedures and identified Upson as being responsible.

He was subsequently charged with robbery and the RIPA offence. He had been served this notice at the prison he was staying in at Hull, but he failed to reply within the required 14-day period.

DC Alfie Thomlinson, from Scarborough and Ryedale CID, said:

“This was a violent robbery by an individual who thought he was untouchable targeting vulnerable members of our community.

“Judge Sean Morris said Leon Upson was ‘acting like a gangster’ and that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated by the police and the criminal justice system as a whole.

“This conviction was only possible thanks to the immense bravery of the victim giving evidence to the police and attending court.

“Upson took up until the day of the trial to plead guilty, therefore forcing the victim to attend York Crown Court to prepare to give evidence and live through the horrific ordeal again.”

DC Thomlinson added:

“Upson was also ordered to provide his phone passcode under Section 49 of RIPA but failed to do so under a legal order.

“He is now serving prison time for keeping crucial evidence from his phone. Let this be a lesson to anyone failing to provide their passcode - you run the risk of receiving a custodial sentence."