Robbers threatened fuel station staff in raid
Northumbia PoliceThree robbers who threatened to smash wine bottles on petrol station workers during a raid for cigarettes and alcohol have each been jailed for three years.
Liam Ellison, Andrew Davie and John Quinn were drunk or on drugs when they targeted an Esso garage in Sunderland shortly after having an altercation with two shopkeepers, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
A judge said they had to tackle their addictions to "break the cycle" of crime.
The homeless trio, each of whom had dozens of offences on their criminal record, admitted robbery, with Ellison also pleading guilty to assaulting a shopkeeper.
At about 23:40 GMT on 7 February, the three men got into argument with a shopkeeper in Sunderland after the man asked them to move away from the entrance to his store, prosecutor Stuart Graham said.
Ellison kicked through a glass panel in the door and hit another shopkeeper, who had come out to help, in the face leaving him with a swollen eye, the court heard.
About 40 minutes later, Ellison and Davie went into a petrol station and started snatching bottles of vodka and wine and packets of cigarettes, the court heard.
Several workers confronted them, with the robbers brandishing bottles at them and Ellison, who was also armed with a plank of wood, saying he would "kill" them if they came any closer, Graham said.
Quinn held the door open for the robbers and also waved a bottle towards workers, the court heard.
The trio made off with six bottles of vodka, six wine bottles and 20 packets of cigarettes worth £545, the court heard.
Ellison, 37, had 143 offences on his criminal record, including 44 theft-related crimes and a robbery, the court heard.
Quinn, 37, had 97 on his record including 22 theft-related crimes while Davie, 37, had 72 offences included a robbery, Graham said.
Recorder Richard Stubbs said all three had drink or drug addictions and they "must take steps to break those addictions" if they were to have any chance of "breaking the cycle" of crime.
Each had been assessed as posing a high or very high risk of further offending, the court heard.
Ellison was jailed for three years and 10 months while Quinn and Davie were each jailed for three years and two months.
