Jewellery heist gang jailed for terrifying armed raid 60 years for robbers who attacked shop worker with a hammer
ARMED robbers who hit a worker with a hammer during a raid on a Birmingham jewellers have been given prison sentences totalling more than 60 years.
The raiders stuffed a haul worth £250,000 into plastic bags after one posed as a customer to trick staff into opening the door at SP Green in the Jewellery Quarter.
Three masked thugs rushed in behind the accomplice, with Owen Richardson swinging a hammer at the employee before stamping on him behind the counter.
As the vicious attack took place, gang members Daijon Johnson and Jamul Pinnock-Parkes leapt over the counter and ransacked cabinets in the Warstone Lane store, which specialises in diamond jewellery.
Richardson then turned his attention to another employee as she triggered a smoke alarm moments before the gang fled.
Immediately after the raid, PinnockParkes, Johnson and a 17-year-old gang member who tried and failed to get into the shop, were arrested after fleeing and calling for a taxi. Their driver became suspicious when the passengers hid their faces and bent down to avoid being seen.
He reversed up to a police car on the lookout for the robbers. The men fled but were arrested at the scene.
Richardson and getaway driver Jer- maine Davis were arrested the following day in a Renault Megane seen at the time of the raid.
The gang was convicted at Birmingham Crown Court after CCTV cameras around the city captured their movements before and after the raid, which happened on January 6 last year.
Owen Richardson, of Frankfort Street, Newtown, was jailed for 14 years for con- spiracy to rob and possession of class A drugs with intent to supply. The 21-yearold denied the conspiracy charge, but was convicted after a jury spent just 11 minutes deliberating.
Daijon Johnson, 20, of Sherbourne Grove, Ladywood, admitted conspiracy to rob, and an unrelated robbery, and was jailed for 12 years and eight months.
Jamul Pinnock-Parkes, 20, of Manilla Road, Selly Park, admitted conspiracy to rob and was jailed for nine years and 10 months.
Jermaine Davis, 27, of Icknield Port Road, Edgbaston, admitted conspiracy to rob and possession with intent to supply and escaping lawful custody. He was jailed for 14 years and 11 months.
Bradley Devine, 25, of Four Acres, Quinton, who posed as the customer to allow the gang access, was jailed for 10 years in May last year after admitting conspiracy to rob and other offences.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will be sentenced on December 15 and has admitted conspiracy to rob.
Although £250,000 of jewellery was taken, only £12,000 worth has so far been recovered.
Detective Constable Mark Timmins, who led the investigation into the violent robbery for West Midlands Police, said: “This was a really nasty robbery targeting a business in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter. Despite the gang members being disguised, we have used CCTV from around the city to ensure they have been brought to justice.
“The member of staff who was hit with the hammer was left really badly shaken and it’s by sheer luck that he wasn’t really seriously injured. Businesses in the area can rest assure that we will always fully investigate these crimes.
“This robbery had a considerable amount of planning, and if anyone has concerns about people acting suspiciously in the Jewellery Quarter, they can always speak to us.”