A convicted criminal currently serving a life sentence for murder has been given an additional custodial term for robbery.
Vincent Sparkes, 45, is currently serving his sentence for murder at HMP Bullingdon, with a minimum of 17 and a half years, after he was found guilty of killing 41-year-old Neil Bambrick.
At around 8.55pm on July 11, 2023, Sparkes and Mr Bambrick, who had been a volunteer at Swindon Street Friends, were involved in an altercation in the street when Sparkes headbutted Mr Bambrick before pulling out a knife.
Mr Bambrick sustained a single, fatal wound to the chest and despite the best efforts of emergency services, he died in hospital.
Sparkes pleaded guilty to manslaughter, claiming the fatal wound was an accident.
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However, the jury rejected this and found him guilty of murder at Bristol Crown Court on Monday, May 13, 2024.
The 45-year-old has also been charged with a robbery which occurred in Swindon on October 28, 2022 alongside another man, Mark Thirkettle.
It is said the pair robbed a man of £700, which Sparkes pleaded guilty to at Swindon Crown Court on Friday, February 28.
Meanwhile, Thirkettle has pleaded not guilty to robbery and he has a case management hearing at Swindon Crown Court on April 17.
Sparkes was given a total custodial sentence of 40 months, added onto his existing sentence, and he was ordered to pay a surcharge of £228.
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