Stabbing Five jailed for ‘terrifying’ armed robbery at cannabis farm
THREE men from Bristol have been jailed for their part in a violent knifepoint robbery of a couple who were growing cannabis at their home in the Forest of Dean.
A man was stabbed five times in the incident, which led to prison time for Ryan Bartley, 35, of Whitecross Road, Weston-super-Mare; Dean Purnell, 33, of Kerry Road, Knowle West; and Dillon Kow, 26, of Siston Park, Mangotsfield.
Jade Cunningham, 27, of no fixed abode, and Taschan Peart, 22, from Tottenham, were also sentenced for the robbery at Gloucester Crown Court on Tuesday.
The prosecutor, Charles Taylor, said the men all travelled from the Weston-super-Mare area to steal cannabis plants that were being grown in outbuildings at the address.
“There were in excess of 150 plants at the address,” the barrister said, adding that the raiders made off with 114 of them.
He gave a value of more than £90,000 for the potential crop.
The men were jailed for a total of more than 36 years by Judge Michael Cullum.
Kow and Peart had entered guilty pleas in relation to robbing David Spurr and Caroline Spurr of a Mercedes car, cash, a mobile phone and duvet cover on September 24 last year in Redmarley, Gloucestershire.
All five men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal on that date.
Cunningham had also admitted assaulting David Spurr with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm during the incident.
Mr Spurr was stabbed five times by Cunningham after confronting
the impostors in his driveway.
Forensic evidence linked only Cunningham to the scene, but the case was built around vehicle number plate recognition and mobile phone evidence, Mr Taylor said.
The prosecutor said the raid was “conceived well in advance” with reconnaissance by Bartley, downloading an aerial photograph of the premises on September 10, and Purnell travelling to Redmarley in the early hours of September 16 to scout the location.
The five men had travelled together in two vehicles from Weston, arriving a little before midnight.
Cunningham, Kow, Peart and another man, who has never been identified, were seen on CCTV entering the property, while Purnell and Bartley waited outside.
“They are seen moving around the outside of the address,” Mr Taylor said. “That goes on for a few minutes before David Spurr comes out to confront them.
“He is a 56-year-old man at his home address alone with his wife.
“It goes on for a number of minutes, with a sustained attack on Mr Spurr by Mr Cunningham, lying prone on the ground.
“There is repeated stabbing and repeated kicking.
“The fourth man, the one not before the court, is brandishing a plank of wood, and a metal wheel brace in the other hand.”
Mrs Spurr was dragged out of the house by her hair and threatened.
“They demanded the keys to the cars and outbuilding.
“The Mercedes was taken, and another set of keys discarded outside,” Mr Taylor continued.
“They went into the bedrooms to use bed linen to scoop up the cannabis plants. They also took cash from Mr Spurr’s wallet.
“They had threatened Mrs Spurr not to call for an ambulance, but at 12.52am she called 999.
“At the scene, oxygen and morphine were given and Mr Spurr was taken to hospital.”
The victim suffered five stab wounds, a punctured lung, a fractured cheekbone and a “significant” facial injury.
Imposing jail terms on each of the men, Judge Cullum told them: “It was a particular cruelty telling Mrs Spurr not to call an ambulance.
“They must have known he was seriously injured.
“The callousness of the robbery developed. Taschan Peart brings out Mrs Spurr. She too was a victim of the robbery.
“Their home was invaded. That had nothing to do with removal of cannabis plants. What you three did was to terrify and terrorise Mr and Mrs Spurr,” the judge said.
Ryan Bartley was jailed for two years, eight months, with Dean Purnell receiving a term of three years, two months custody.
Both Taschan Peart and Dillon Kow were each given custodial sentences of nine years and seven months.
Jade Cunningham was jailed for 11 years and three months.
The judge told Cunningham: “You are a dangerous offender. You were so ready to repeatedly stab a man that you did not need to.
“You chose to stab him and stab him again and again.”