Gun and knife-wielding masked gang robbed terrified shop owners in their 70s in Chilwell

A gang of masked robbers, armed with a gun and knives, burst into a Nottingham shop, terrifying the elderly owner and fleeing with thousands of pounds of goods. CCTV played at Nottingham Crown Court showed Joshua Woods, Callum Groves and Jack Weston try unsuccessfully to prise the till from the counter while threatening the 76-year-old victim with the weapons.

Two of the trio, who amazingly have no previous convictions of any kind, had earlier the same day been on a reconnaissance trip to the Chilwell shop before returning and carrying out what the prosecutor called their “incompetent” mission.

And in a victim impact statement, the owner told how he thought he might be shot by what he believed was a real gun one of the robbers was pointing at his head.

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Sentencing the trio, Judge John Hardy KC said: “It can never be an excuse to say ‘I am going to rob two 70-year-old pensioners of the cash they have in their shop’ and ‘I am going to satisfy my need to inflict terror on them’.

“That is not an excuse (and) the answer to ‘why (this robbery was carried out)?’ is class A drugs.”

Jon Fountain, prosecuting, said the robbery took place at Deepak Foodstore, in Barn Croft, on September 23, last year. He said the elderly shop owner and his wife, who have run the store for three decades, were alone in the store when three masked men entered it armed with weapons.

He said earlier that day Woods and Groves had been exchanging messages about robbing a shop “in Notts” to get money and recruited Weston to come along with them telling him needed to bring “a strap or a blade, bro”, meaning a gun or a knife. The prosecutor said around midday Woods and Groves carried out a reconnaissance trip to the street where the shop was before heading back to their homes in Leicester to prepare for the robbery.

Mr Fountain said around 6pm the trio drove up in two cars, placed tape over the registration plates and entered the store wearing masks or balaclavas to hide their identities. He said: “Woods was the first one in the store and went to the front of the counter and produced a large knife.

“Groves pulled out a semi-automatic imitation firearm and pointed it at the shopkeeper and then went behind the counter still pointing it at the victim

“Woods started to pull the till which was secured to the counter and stubbornly would not move. So he and Groves began passing tobacco to Weston who was at the back and placed it into a bag.

“The victim’s wife was aware of what was happening to her husband and was scared stiff.”

Mr Fountain showed the court the CCTV of the armed robbery which lasted just under two minutes before the trio fled and drove back to Leicester. He said: “It was a robbery which was incompetently carried out and Woods left his baseball cap at the scene which contained his DNA.”

All three men were arrested separately and on different days over the next few weeks and at first denied being involved in the robbery. Weston even told the police he had never even heard of his two co-defendants.

But each of them later pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of weapons and Groves to possession of an imitation firearm. None of them have any previous convictions of any kind.

The prosecutor read out victim impact statements made by the shop owners. In his, the 76-year-old said: “I am now cautious of anyone walking into the shop and constantly monitor the CCTV to see who is around. I was terrified because when I saw the gun I believed it was a real one and I might be shot.”

And in her statement, the wife said: “We have been running the business for 30 years and nothing like this has ever happened to us before.”

Woods, 29, of Chilcombe Walk, Leicester, a father of two daughters, aged nine and five, was jailed for four years and three months. Matt Hayes, his barrister said: “There is evidence in this case that drugs are a feature in Mr Woods’ life. He was facing financial pressure and money was needed and he involved himself in this enterprise and now he must face the consequences. He has the support of his family and employer.”

Groves, a 25-year-old father-of-two, of Hartshorn Close, Thurmaston, Leicester, was sent to prison for four years, his sentence being slightly less as he pleaded guilty at an earlier opportunity. Laura Pitman, mitigating, said: “Everyone who knows him and loves him has been shocked to the core, particularly Mr Groves’ mother. She works in a very important job in the NHS and when she came to discover her son had been arrested and what for, it changed her life forever. They understand he has got to be punished as does he. Against a background of financial pressures he carried this disgusting offence out of desperation.

And Weston, 23, of Cuffling Drive, Leicester, was also handed a four-year and three-month prison term. Lucky Thandi, his barrister, said: “He is realistic and knows he is looking at a custodial sentence of some length. He has never been arrested by the police before. It’s plain this was not a plan of his making, Mr Weston was not part of the reccy that Mr Groves and Mr Woods were, he was needed as an extra body for a ‘smash and grab’.”