Knife man is jailed
Dad held up bookies shop
A Blantyre dad-of-two who held up a bookies with a 10-inch knife was put behind bars for Christmas.
Paul Barratt stormed William Hill on Cullen Road behind the Murray Square, East Kilbride, last year, masking his face and wielding the weapon.
At Hamilton Sheriff Court, Barratt was jailed for 18 months and told “no amount of mitigation” could spare him a custodial sentence.
Brandishing the knife at the duty manager, 27-year-old Barratt demanded that he fill the bag full of cash.
Frightened for his life, the manager ran and hid behind a door nearby.
The court heard that Barratt had covered his face with a scarf and put his hood up before targeting the bookmakers on the afternoon of May 31, 2016.
Fiscal depute Paula Russell said: “Mr Barratt threw the bag towards the counter and ran backwards towards the door and shouted ‘fill the bag now’.
“He left shortly after, running and tripping outside.
“One customer waited until it was safe and followed Mr Barratt, watching him run towards Livingstone Drive.
“Another witness who saw him enter and leave the premises watched as he ran and jumped into a car.”
The witness jotted down his registration number and Barratt, a repeat offender, was eventually snared after his car was traced.
Barratt, from Caithness Road, claimed to police that he was at work when the raid happened but he was identified as the armed assailant by his boss, who was shown the CCTV.
It was confirmed that no cash was taken during the raid.
Barratt, who has a young son and a partner pregnant with his second child, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery at the sheriff court.
Relatives sobbed in the public gallery as Sheriff Ray Small jailed him for 18 months.
Barratt shouted to his family from the dock ‘don’t worry, it’s cool,’ before he was led to the cells.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Small said: “This was a very serious armed robbery.
“If you take a knife and present it in a commercial premises it is so serious that no amount of mitigation is appropriate.”