Andrew Horsman, 43, and Marcus Stannard, 33, stalked their 37-year-old victim before seizing their chance when he went into an alleyway off Coney Street, York Crown Court heard.
Rob Galley, prosecuting, said between them the pair hit the man from behind and as he lay on the ground “stomped” twice on his face, before fleeing with his phone and other items. They left him lying on the ground yelling vainly for help for 40 minutes.
By the time he was heard and taken to hospital, he was struggling to breathe and slipping in and out of consciousness.
“He believed he was going to die,” said Mr Galley.
The victim said in a personal statement: “They (the robbers) stole my peace, they stole my confidence and they stole the person I used to be.”
He now felt nervous walking to and from work, struggled to sleep and had considered leaving York.
Mr Galley said the victim spent four days in hospital for injuries including a displaced nose, swelling and bruising to an eye and a head injury. The victim said he had had seizures of extreme pain that required morphine.
Despite his efforts to resist them, the robbers had stolen the man’s phone which he used to keep in touch with two seriously ill relatives, his wallet, bank cards and bracelets, said the barrister. Altogether the stolen items were worth £1,400.
Horsman and Stannard, both of no fixed address, both pleaded guilty to robbery and each was jailed for 50 months. Both have long criminal histories, but neither has been convicted of robbery before.
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