Yahoo News Robber who claimed he had a knife jailed after raid on Hucknall community store
A robber who stole more than £860 in cash after threatening a shop assistant he had a knife has been jailed. Liam Worton, 31 and of Chatsworth Drive, Hucknall, raided the Peppers Stores on Watnall Road, Hucknall, on January 7, 2023.
He was jailed for two years and 11 months at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday, June 24, having pled guilty to robbery and shop theft. Worton had first attended the store around 5pm when he grabbed cans of lager and was caught on CCTV leaving after making no attempt to pay.
Around one hour later, a member of staff was in the storeroom when she heard the shop door open. As she walked back to the till she saw a man with a hood tight over his face had entered the shop and was walking towards her.
When the man reached the counter he ordered the shop worker to open the till and said he had a knife in his pocket. In her statement to the police, the woman told how she “panicked” as she “felt trapped behind the counter”.
She therefore opened the till and the man, later identified to be Worton, grabbed the cash and fled the scene. Response officers who were called to the scene were able to identify Worton as a suspect and he was arrested just over one hour later at an address in Hucknall.
Detectives carried out house-to-house inquiries and made use of CCTV and forensics as part of their investigation into the robbery. Detective Constable Christine Hewlett, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "The victim must have been extremely frightened when she was confronted by a robber with his face covered and claiming to have a knife.
"She was simply doing her job and no one deserves to be threatened with violence while at work. Thankfully we were able to quickly identify a suspect and arrest Worton.
"He denied the offence in interview but detectives were able to build a strong case against him during our investigation. Anyone carrying out a robbery like this with threats to hard-working members of the public can expect a robust response from the force and I am pleased the judge has seen fit to put him behind bars."
