Robber with a cardboard 'gun' is jailed
A MAN who who pretended to have a gun to rob a Nottingham shop has been jailed for three years.
Paul Mcdonald, 48, of St Mary’s Court, Derby, stormed into a shop in Wollaton Road on April 14, and demanded money while aiming something he was hiding under his jumper at a teenage shop worker.
The cashier immediately handed over a small amount of cash, believing a gun was being pointed at him.
Mcdonald then ran out of the shop, but the teenage worker chased him.
The worker tackled Mcdonald to the ground, to discover it was just a rolled-up piece of cardboard he was hiding. Mcdonald managed to flee, dropping the cash he’d stolen, before being discovered and arrested by police a few minutes later. Mcdonald was charged with robbery and having an imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence.
He had previously pleaded guilty to the charges at an earlier hearing.
On Monday at Nottingham Crown Court, he was sentenced to three years in prison. Detective Constable Rob Marsden, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Mcdonald’s decision that day to storm into the store and threaten someone with what they believed was a gun was completely unacceptable and reckless in the extreme.
"At the time of the robbery, the shop worker had no way of knowing for sure that the object being pointed at him was anything other than a real firearm.
“The force will always respond robustly and decisively to every report we receive relating to a firearms offence, for the simple purpose of helping keep people safe. Likewise, we are absolutely committed to reducing incidents of robbery in our communities as we understand how much of a lasting impact this can have on people.
“This must have been a terrifying experience for the teenage victim, who will have believed they were in danger of being seriously hurt throughout the ordeal. While Mcdonald wasn’t carrying a weapon during this incident, this was still an incredibly serious offence, so I’m pleased to see this has been reflected in the length of the sentence handed out to him.”
The shop worker had no way of knowing for sure that the object being pointed at him was anything other than a real firearm