Bungled Hatton Gardenstyle raid foiled by alarm
BRISTOL’S version of the Hatton Garden gang was a bit of a flop. In London, four elderly men managed to steal gems worth £14 million when they tunnelled their way to safe deposit boxes.
In Bristol, five young men bored their way from an empty shop into a pawnbrokers.
But their cutting gear tripped a vibration sensor alarm and the game was up.
The gang disguised themselves as workmen when they targeted the safe at Cheques and Change on Fishponds Road, Bristol Crown Court heard.
Owing to the bad vibes they had to abandon the metre-high hole, which came out at the back of the safe, and flee.
Five men pleaded guilty to burglary and attempted burglary in July last year.
They were: Abdul Gani, 29, of no fixed address; Jamie Barrett, 28, of Whitehall Avenue, Bristol; Daryll Henderson, 26, of Court Avenue, Stoke Gifford; Lee Monelle, 29, of no fixed address, and Gary Randall, 25, of Harwood House, Bristol.
On Friday, the one-year anniversary of the raid, Judge Michael Harington jailed them for a total of 16 years and two months.
Gani and Monelle were sentenced to three years, four months; Randall and Barrett received three years, six months; Henderson received 30 months.
The judge told the men: “This was a carefully planned and professional operation by a team of five wearing high visibility jackets, which enabled you to explain that you were working at the property.
“You targeted the pawnbrokers shop where there was a safe containing gold and cash.”
Charley Pattison, prosecuting, said the pawnbrokers bought and sold gold and next door to it was a disused Greggs bakers.
At 6.21pm on July 13 last year the gang turned up dressed in high visibility jackets, carrying tools.
Miss Pattison said: “When challenged they said they were builders doing out of hours work.”
Gani hired a Mercedes car to transport gang members, while Henderson used his own vehicle.
The court heard the men entered the unoccupied premises via a rear fire exit, hooked up lights and powered a hand-held angle grinder to cut the hole.
Miss Pattison told the court: “The men went into the vacant property and drilled a large hole through the wall, which activated the vibration sensor alarm at 7pm.
“Henderson, with a jumper over his head, came outside and others followed him, all carrying equipment.
“The men then dispersed.”
When the manager of the pawnbrokers arrived the next day he found a notice saying the sensor alarm had been tripped and found a large hole in the wall.
Damage caused amounted to £700 and security was upgraded as a result.
The court heard Gani and Monelle were already serving eight years and seven years, respectively, for a robbery they were involved in after the burglary.
Andrew Stone, defending Gani, said his client became addicted to gambling and incurred a £20,000 debt.
Catherine Spedding, defending Monelle, said the plasterer’s use of alcohol and cocaine plummeted his life into a downward spiral.
Tabitha Macfarlane, defending Henderson, said the courier was a hard worker who had wanted to make money to help his family. Alun Williams, defending Barrett, said: “The Devil made work for, not idle hands, but someone at a low ebb.”
David Scutt, defending Randall, said: “From a young age he has been caught up in a vortex of criminality down to misguided loyalty to his friends.”