He fled seconds later and then lied to police when they tried to arrest him.

But Samuel Glen Tighe has escaped jail.

The 23-year-old was handed an eight month suspended sentence in Tamworth District Court yesterday morning after he admitted to being an accessory after the robbery of the elderly woman in the City Plaza  car park on December 12, 2013.

The court heard Tighe was with a group of three other boys, two as young as 12, who jumped fences through White St and switched shirts to “avoid detection and apprehension”, moments after Mrs Bakker suffered a bleed on the brain, broken bones, and other serious injuries when she fell during the violent bag snatch.

“No one else has been charged over this serious assault on a defenceless member of the public,” Judge John North said in sentencing.

“This was a cowardly crime involving some serious force.”

Tighe was supported in court by his family when the facts were presented, detailing how Mrs Bakker was involved in a “tug of war” with the robber who struck from behind, before she was pulled down and “toppled head first to the concrete surface.”

The charge of accessory carries a five year maximum penalty, but Tighe has already spent more than seven months in custody after he was refused bail by the courts, then again locked up when he breached his release conditions.

The court heard the robber cannot be identified on the evidence before police, public defender Richard Wilson said. 

“It was one of the boys who was in a group of four,” he said.

“This offender is to be punished for what he did.”

The court heard Tighe had a “totally dysfunctional upbringing”, both of his older brothers were in and out of jail for much of their lives and it was “apparent” Tighe had started “to follow in his brothers’ footsteps”.

But Mr Wilson said Tighe had since turned to rehabilitation and had stayed out of trouble.

“Has stopped drinking, has stopped taking drugs ... he’s even stopped smoking cigarettes,” he said.

“Finding again his Christian faith ... he has shown some positive steps.”

In front of family and friends of Mrs Bakker, the court heard she was an “independent and eloquent” woman “who enjoyed life greatly prior to this”.

“It has obviously had a serious impact,” Judge North said, adding she was a “vital member of the community”.

The court was told the crime was aggravated because of Mrs Bakker’s age.

“The victim was in a vulnerable position,” Crown prosecutor John Stanhope submitted.

“The community needs to feel a person, the age of Mrs Bakker, can go about their daily business without fear.”

Judge North added Tighe’s culpability was “not limited to the moments after the robbery”.

“On arrest, he lies to police ... tries to steer them down the wrong path,” he said.

“It’s not spur of the moment.

“You would expect to be able to walk across to your car in a shopping centre in the middle of Tamworth without this happening to you.”

Judge North ordered Tighe to serve an eight-month suspended sentence to be supervised, warning him “it was very much in his hands” if he committed another crime.

“As night follows day you will go to jail,” he said.

“It’s a very, very serious crime with serious repercussions.”