Gleneagles Rolex raiders are jailed for 30 YEARS
Armed robbers threatened staff with gun during £500,000 heist
TWO armed robbers who carried out a terrifying £500,000 raid at one of the country’s most exclusive hotels were yesterday jailed for almost 30 years.
Glasgow-born Richard Fleming, 42, and Liam Richardson, 30, were part of a three-man gang which stole dozens of Rolex watches from the Mappin & Webb boutique at Gleneagles Hotel on June 27, 2017.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how staff at the Perthshire hotel thought the gang were carrying out a ‘terrorist attack’ as Fleming, who had moved to London, threat- ened them with a gun, a machete and hammers.
After the two-minute raid had ended, the robbers escaped in a stolen Audi sports car which they dumped nearby.
They had taken 50 of the 51 Rolex watches on display at the boutique. The watches had a value of £516,750 and have never been recovered.
The gang drove to Glasgow in a stolen Range Rover Evoque – but police tracked them down after finding the getaway car burned out in a cemetery in the city’s East End.
Yesterday, judge Lady Carmichael jailed Fleming for 18 years. Richardson, of London, was sentenced to 11 years and four months.
Passing sentence, Lady Carmichael said: ‘The robbery was an act of serious, premeditated criminality which involved significant
‘This was an act of serious, premeditated criminality’
advance planning, with a visit to the hotel by you, Mr Fleming, and dummy runs of the route from Glasgow to Gleneagles in the days preceding the robbery using vehicles apparently set aside specifically for the purpose of the robbery.
‘Criminal behaviour of this nature will not be tolerated and requires the imposition of a substantial period of imprisonment.’
Richardson pleaded guilty to armed robbery at the start of his accomplice’s trial in August.
A jury returned guilty verdicts on the armed robbery and assault charges Fleming faced. At the end of proceedings, it emerged that he had been jailed for nine years at the Old Bailey in London in 2007 for possessing a firearm.
The court heard Fleming had gone to Glasgow to visit family in early June 2017 and subsequently drove to St Andrews in Fife with another man. He broke into two houses there and stole a gold and diamond ring worth £11,000, a platinum ring worth £3,500 and pearl necklaces, earrings, a gold wedding ring, an Edwardian brooch, Louis Vuitton handbags and designer sunglasses.
On the same day, Fleming was captured on CCTV at Gleneagles, planning the raid on the luxury resort, where a one night dinner, bed and breakfast deal can cost £680.
He later drove between the hotel and Glasgow, trying to find the best getaway route.
Gleneagles security superviser Euan Wishart told the court he was threatened with the gun on two occasions during the raid.
The former police officer said: ‘He said something along the lines of, “F**k off. Call the police and I will kill you”.’
But Mr Wishart continued to monitor the gang and drove behind the getaway car when it left the hotel. Fleming and his accomplices dumped the Audi nearby and drove to Glasgow in the Range Rover, which was found burnt out two days later in the Parkhead area. PC Barry Calder became suspicious that such a prestigious car had been destroyed and examined police data bases to find out if it had been used in any recent crimes. He discovered a similar vehicle had been used in the Gleneagles raid and contacted colleagues who were handling the investigation. They subsequently managed to gather enough evidence to arrest and charge Fleming and Richardson. Brian McConnachie, QC, representing Fleming, said his client had endured a difficult childhood. He added: ‘He was in care several times as a youth and he became involved in drugs. He subsequently became involved in crime.’ He said Fleming was the father of a young child and was keen to be involved in the infant’s upbringing. Richardson’s lawyer Ronnie Renucci, QC, told the court that his client only became involved in the robbery to help out a family member. Lady Carmichael ordered Fleming to be supervised for three years following his release from custody. She told Richardson that his sentence had been discounted due to his guilty plea.