Judge labels IED use in robberies as a ‘disturbing’ first
Pair who targeted cash machines in convenience stores given lengthy prison sentences
AJUDGE has warned of a ‘disturbing development’ after two robbers blew up four cash machines before raking in tens of thousands of pounds.
Seasoned criminals Wesley Shepherd and Benjamin Thompson enjoyed holidays abroad in the four-month period they targeted convenience stores for cash last year, stealing more than £157,000, Manchester Crown Court heard.
The pair targeted shops in Rochdale, Trafford, east Manchester and Stoke-on-trent, where they ‘manhandled’ workers out of the building late at night, before using an ‘improvised explosive device’ (IED) to break into standalone ATMS inside each store.
But after a fifth plot was scuppered in Oldham last September, Shepherd and Thompson’s scheme was foiled by police, and the pair have now been jailed.
After hearing details of the pair’s crimes, His Honour Judge Alan Conran KC said the ‘planned and highly organised’ robberies were the first of their kind, with an IED being placed inside the cash machines - with the ‘disturbing’ tactic described as a ‘new modus operandi’.
Prosecuting, Andrew Smith described the pair’s first attempt to steal money from a cash machine at Mccolls on Irlam Road, in Flixton.
The court heard they targeted the store at around 10pm last April 5, using a stolen Jaguar car on false number plates which they had purchased three weeks earlier. Mr Smith said the pair ‘knew exactly when the shop was closing’, with the shutter only part open to allow the shopkeeper to leave.
He saw a crowbar being carried as the defendants made their way to the store, before being manhandled’, Mr Smith said. The prosecutor told the court that one defendant told the victim: “We just want the cash machine, we don’t want to hurt you.”
The worker was then ‘ushered out’ of the shop by one defendant, while the second broke into the cash machine and set off the IED, the court heard. Thompson and Shepherd were unsuccessful in taking any of the £60,000 which was being stored in the machine - but the pair followed the same plan and three more convenience stores where they did manage to take large sums of cash.
They targeted the Co-op store on Grosvenor Street, in Rochdale, at 9.50pm last April 24 where two workers were moved out of the store before the explosion. In a victim impact statement, a woman who was working there at the time said: “I’m now so scared and on edge all the time.
“My sleep has been affected as it plays in my mind all the time. I didn’t know where they were taking me or what they were going to do. What happened that night has changed my life. I’m always looking over my shoulder and think that they are going to come back when I’m working alone.”
The court heard Shepherd and Thompson would communicate with each other using ‘walkie-talkies’ during their attacks. Mr Smith said that while one defendant ushered staff out from the Co-op, he told the other who focused on the cash machine: “Do your ting, bro.”
The defendants managed to take £58,400 from the machine and caused £7,000 of damage, Mr Smith said. A luxury BMW X4 car was purchased following the attack and before the next one, at the Mega Save on Lees Street, in Gorton, last May 16.
Thompson and Shepherd were seen on CCTV waiting behind a wall before striking at 10pm. The court heard how the woman working in the store told the offenders: “Don’t hurt me.”
Mr Smith said she was told: “I’m not going to hurt you, nobody is going to get hurt.” The ‘terrified’ worker had to leave her job as a result of the attack, her victim impact statement said.
The offenders took £6,340 from the machine and caused more than £5,000 of damage. Their biggest haul was from the fourth incident at a store in Stoke-in-trent last July, where £92,800 was taken, the court heard and £5,800 worth of damage was caused.
The court heard how the Stoke incident did not go entirely to plan, however, with the IED exploding soon after being lit - causing an injury to Thompson. Mr Smith told the court that following their criminal exploits, Thompson went on holiday to Spain, Shepherd went to Portugal, and the pair took a trip to Egypt together. After returning, they plotted a fifth attack on a cash machine, this time at a store in Oldham.
Last September 19, they were seen in a stolen Volkswagen Polo on false registration plates, Mr Smith said.
Police saw the car the following day, when Thompson and Shepherd abandoned their attempt to raid the Oldham shop and ditched the car. The pair were later arrested.
Both defendants had lengthy criminal pasts, with Shepherd having committed 20 offences, and Thompson having committed 13. The pair had previously been convicted together for conspiracy to rob in 2010, when they targeted ‘cash in transit’ vehicles.
Both defence counsel argued that the actions of their clients caused risk to property, rather than life, and that the defendants took steps to move the victims out of harm’s way. But Judge Conran insisted he was ‘by no way persuaded by that point’.
The two defendants had also both written letters to the court expressing their remorse. Discussing his client Thompson’s letter, defence counsel Oliver Jarvis said: “There’s no excuse, there’s no begging letter about the sentence, it’s a full and frank apology for these offences.”
The court heard Thompson had recently learned his partner is pregnant, while Shepherd was a described as a ‘stable man’ who is a primary carer for his 82-year-old grandfather and a father to a young child. Representing Shepherd, Nicola Carroll said: “[Shepherd] wants [the victims] to know how genuinely sorry he is and that he intends to explore his opportunities in terms of restorative justice, if of course that is something the victims wish to explore themselves.”
Before passing his sentence, Judge Conran said: “This type of attack on cash machines, sometimes referred to as a blow-out, was relatively prevalent 10 to 15 years ago, albeit using different methods... it’s clear in such cases that deterrence is an important consideration in such sentencing.” Both defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob, and conspiracy to cause explosion likely to endanger life or property.
But Shepherd’s plea was entered sooner leading to greater credit being given by Judge Conran in sentencing. Thompson, 36, of Kenworthy Lane, Northenden, was sentenced to 16 years in prison, plus four years’ extended licence beyond that date.
Shepherd, 40, of St Mary’s Road, Sale, was sentenced to 14 years and eight months in prison, plus four years’ extended licence beyond that. They will be considered for release after two-thirds of their sentence, while the court will consider what to do with their ill-gotten gains at a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing on May 9.
Sentencing the pair, Judge Conran said the actions of the pair showed a ‘level of ingenuity’ as he remarked on their unique method. But he criticised their ‘inherent danger’ and noted the events were ‘extremely frightening for the victims’ and caused ‘hardship’ for one woman who left her job - while the offenders enjoyed ‘large sums stolen to fund comfortable lifestyles’.
Judge Conran added: “The defendants are both intelligent and articulate men. They both have... capacity to make something for themselves. They both expressed remorse. They both stand to lose a lot from long periods of custody.”