Judge pours cold water on hot-tub robber’s bid
AN ARMED robber who toasted a violent £8,000 heist with strawberries and champagne in a hot tub has been told by top judges he can’t appeal his sentence.
Karl Taylor, 41, was pictured alongside accomplice Stephen Pattison frolicking in a Jacuzzi.
The pair had escaped with cash after a raid at a Co-op travel agents in July 2016, but unbeknown to them, a tracking device had been hidden inside a bundle of cash – and they were hours from being arrested.
The image of the robbers celebrating was posted on Instagram and found by detectives investigating the raid in Glossop, Derbyshire, in which staff were threatened with a machete and a woman was punched in the head. Officers who raided Taylor’s home in Mottram, near Hyde, found £1,500 in cash hidden in a coat hung up in the hallway, along with a mobile phone which contained the text message: “Where are you. Bring glasses – and muni.”
The hot tub photo – thought to have been taken at a holiday lodge – was also found on the phone.
Taylor, of Howard Place, was jailed for 14 years in February after being convicted of conspiracy to rob at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court. Labelled a dangerous offender, he was ordered to serve an extra three years on licence after his release.
But at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, Judge Mark Wall heard Taylor argue his sentence was far too tough.
The court heard both robbers were wearing balaclavas when they burst into the travel agents, with Taylor holding a machete. They demanded money and, when the plucky staff member ‘tried to refuse,’ Taylor punched her in the face.
His legal team said he had caused no serious injury and didn’t deserve to be condemned as a public danger.
But Judge Wall said: “This was a planned and sophisticated robbery. He played a leading role and a bladed weapon was produced to frighten, but not to injure. The judge decided that he was dangerous and a determinate sentence would not adequately protect the public in future. We have no hesitation in refusing permission to appeal.”
Pattison, of Walker Avenue, Stalybridge, was also given a 15-year sentence after he was found guilty of conspiracy to rob. He is serving a minimum of 12 years behind bars.
The woman in the picture – which was shown to the jury at their trial – was cleared of any wrongdoing.