Masked bank robber is jailed for eight years

A MASKED gunman who robbed a bank minutes after telling a pal “I’m skint” has been jailed for eight and a half years.

Jason Spencer, 41, from Blantyre, walked in to the TSB bank in Main Street, Rutherglen, with a gun inside a carrier bag and ordered staff to hand over cash.

Spencer pushed customers – including an 81-yearold woman – out of the way to get to the teller positions in the branch.

He kept saying: “Give me the money and don’t press any buttons,” and staff described him as holding a gun in his hand.

At the High Court in Glasgow Spencer was yesterday convicted of robbing the bank of £590 in cash on January 23 and having a firearm or an imitation firearm.

The court heard that Spencer, who has five pages of previous convictions, was released from a four years and eight month sentence in September 2017 for an armed robbery at a bookmakers across the road from the bank.

Lord Justice Clerk Lady Dorrian told Spencer: “You have an appalling record. This must have had a shocking effect on bank staff and customers.”

In evidence, Spencer claimed that the man captured on CCTV robbing the bank was not him.

He said: “That man on the CCTV footage is not wearing glasses. I always wear glasses. I can’t see a thing without them.”

However, a number of police officers identified Spencer as the robber.

Prosecutor Duncan McPhie said: “A 61-yearold customer was so upset by the robbery that an ambulance had to be called for her.”