CO-OP ROBBERS SENTENCED

I hope that these sentences will go a long way in terms of reassuring the local communities of Chipping Norton and Eynsham that crime of this nature will simply not be tolerated by police"
- CHIEF INSP DENNIS EVERNDEN WEST OXFORDSHIRE POLICE COMMANDER
 

Sentencing has just taken place at Nottingham Crown Court of these five Coventry men.

They have all been issued with Indeterminate sentences for Public Protection. An indeterminate sentence means prisoners can only be released when the authorities believe they pose no further threat to the community.
Read the story of how they were caught.

OPERATION NUZZLE : AN INVESTIGATION INTO SERIES OF 12 ARMED ROBBERIES IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, WARWICKSHIRE, OXFORDSHIRE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE AND STAFFORDSHIRE

BACKGROUND

Five men have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit armed robberies at stores across five counties in which members of the public were frightened and intimidated and around 175,000 was stolen.

The first incidents happened in Brackley and Daventry in Northamptonshire in November 2005. By mid-March 2006, there had been a string of offences in Northamptonshire, as well as in Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire and it was clear that they were linked.

Northamptonshire Police and Thames Valley Police initially began a joint investigation but it soon became apparent that the series involved more crimes in more areas, and it was decided that Northamptonshire Police would take the lead in an enquiry into all the offences. 

The gang used a variety of weapons to frighten and intimidate staff and customers at the stores they targeted.  On one occasion, at Chipping Norton, they had a shotgun and during the incident, which lasted almost two hours, the gang handed the gun around between them, terrorising staff at the store.  They subsequently claimed the gun had not been loaded.  It has never been recovered.

Their offences had become increasingly violent and police believe that they would have continued to commit robberies around the region and that they would have become increasingly violent if they had not been caught.

THE INVESTIGATION

An incident room was set up at Towcester Police Station in South Northamptonshire, where 10 detectives from Northamptonshire Police and two from Thames Valley Police were committed to the investigation.

The gang had moved further and further away from their home territory of Coventry and Bedworth, wearing different clothing and teaming up in different combinations.   The M40 motorway provided one of the connections that linked all the offences. All five were well known in the Coventry area and police believe that all these factors were part of a deliberate attempt to reduce their chances of their being recognised and the offences linked together.

The discovery of low copy DNA from Daniel Bracken at one of the crime scenes gave police the first breakthrough they needed and a variety of means were used to build up intelligence on Daniel. He was the key to the jigsaw and when he was positively identified as a suspect, identifying the other members of the gang quickly followed.

Though the offenders were often masked, police seized clothing during the arrests which were then compared forensically with CCTV film from some of the robberies and proved further links between the offences and the offenders.

THE ARRESTS

Within three weeks of the incident room being set up five men, all in their early to mid-20s, had been arrested in the Coventry and Bedworth area and ultimately charged with conspiring together to commit robbery.

None of them made any comment during their police interviews and their guilty pleas only came at the last moment before the offences went to trial.

When they were arrested, police recovered a collection of weapons including knives, screwdrivers and samurai swords.  None of the stolen money has been recovered.

COMMENT FROM DETECTIVE SUPERINTENDENT TOM MANSON, SENIOR INVESTIGATING OFFICER

 These five men were career criminals, their job was crime.  They had no regard for the staff at the premises they robbed and set out in a calculating way to cause fear.  Two people were beaten and others were tied up, and the gang used weapons that included a gun to back up their intimidating behaviour. 

They used the threat of violence to coerce and bully people who were going about their jobs and I was concerned that the violence they were using would only get worse if they were not caught.

Amazingly, after these 12, serious robberies none of the five had anything to show for it - no possessions and no money, they had simply thrown it away.

They were a cold, aggressive gang who set out to frighten people into submission.  It was very satisfying for everyone involved that we were able to stop them so quickly.

I am proud of the fact that Northamptonshire Police, the smallest of the police forces involved in the series of robberies, led this major investigation and very quickly arrested the men involved. It shows how police forces can work together and collaborate to use their resources in a very effective way.

COMMENT FROM CHIEF INSP DENNIS EVERNDEN WEST OXFORDSHIRE COMMANDER WHERE TWO OF THE INCIDENTS OCURRED

The conviction of these men is a real success and has removed a network of serious organised criminals from targeting our area.

The Chipping Norton incident shocked the whole community. The offenders had a shotgun and during the incident, which lasted almost two hours, the gang handed the gun around between them, terrorising staff at the store. This clearly demonstrates the determination and ruthlessness of these men.

The sentences that have been handed down today show that the police and the courts take this level of criminality very seriously. The public are safer now these men are off the streets.

I hope that these sentences will go a long way in terms of reassuring the local communities of Chipping Norton and Eynsham that crime of this nature will simply not be tolerated by police.

The sentences send out a powerful message that anyone intent on committing this type of crime can expect to go to prison.

COMMENT FROM CO-OP CHIPPING NORTON

This was a particularly unpleasant and distressing crime for our staff to experience as they simply went about their day to day job. We are pleased today that these people have been brought to justice as it shows that these kinds of crimes are wholly unacceptable.

Below is a CCTV image of the raid by the gang on the Tesco Store in Daventry