Three men were jailed for a total of nearly 19 years following a series of robberies in the Newsham Park area of Liverpool in January 2016.
Stephen Lewis, 18, was sentenced to seven years in custody with an extended sentence of five years; Kyle Maddocks, 21, was sentenced to four years and 11 months in custody with an extended sentence of three years and Dean Callagher, 22, was sentenced to seven years in custody with an extended sentence of five years.
At 3am on Monday 11th January 2016 a man delivering pizza in Newsham Drive was approached by two males dressed in black, one of whom was Lewis. The victim was threatened with a large machete and robbed of nearly £200 and his food orders. He was left without injuries but very shaken after his ordeal.
At 9pm on Tuesday 12th January 2016 a taxi driver dropping off a fare at Newsham Drive was approached by two males dressed in black. He was told to get out of the car by one of the males who produced a large machete and made threats towards him. One of the offenders, one of whom was Lewis and the other Callagher, stabbed at the taxi driver to the shoulder and then slashed him to the arm resulting in minor injuries. The offender with the machete then swung it at the window showering the driver with broken glass.
At 07.20am on Wednesday 20th January, Lewis, Maddocks and an unknown male entered Hollys Mini Mart on Lower Breck Road. Staff in the store were threatened with a machete and a hammer by three males who entered the shop and stole a quantity of cash and cigarettes.
Officers attended the scene and downloaded CCTV footage of the robbery. A short time later Lewis and Maddocks were seen by patrols in the local area and arrested on suspicion of robbery. Both were found to be carrying a significant quantity of cash.
A search of Lewis’s home address on Newsham Drive also uncovered a machete weapon noted in all robberies, clothing identical to that worn by the males in the CCTV at Hollys and several packets of sealed cigarettes.
Lewis and Maddocks were charged and kept in custody and each separate robbery was linked via the distinctive machete. Callagher was identified as a suspect and arrested a few days later.
Detective Inspector Ian Warlow of Liverpool Serious and Organised Crime team said: “Robberies against local businesses greatly affect those who work there and their customers who are local people themselves.
“The delivery driver, the taxi driver and the shop staff were simply going about their day-to-day business and should not have to endure this type of criminality. Having seen the knife and the CCTV footage of the robbery in the mini mart I can imagine it must have been a terrifying experience for them.
“Thanks to the quick actions of officers at the scene of the robbery at Hollys Mini Mart, Lewis and Maddocks were both arrested within a short period of time of the robbery and have remained in custody ever since. Thorough and diligent detective work lead them to Callagher.
“The sentences given to all three males today reflect the severity of their actions.
“I want to reassure the community that we are committed to tackling this type of crime and bringing offenders such as these to justice.
“We are also working with businesses to ensure they have comprehensive CCTV systems and other security measures to deter such crimes and help us to catch offenders.”