Three jailed for armed cash in transit robberies
Three men were today jailed for conspiring to commit a series of armed cash in transit robberies in Shropshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and West Midlands areas.
They all appeared before His Honour Judge Barrie for sentencing at Shrewsbury Crown Court after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing.
Adrian John Durant, aged 30 of Emerson Road, The Scotlands, Wolverhampton was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for conspiracy to commit robbery against G4S Cash Solutions. Durant pleaded guilty to ten offences and will therefore serve at least seven years of his sentence.
Craig Lee Perry, aged 33, of Wentworth Road, Wolverhampton pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, arson and aggravated vehicle taking. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his part in the conspiracy to commit robbery, 2 years for the arson and 12 months for the aggravated vehicle taking, all to be served concurrently.
Lee Matthew Tonks, aged 34, of Dryden Road, The Scotlands, Wolverhampton was sentenced to eighteen months in prison following his guilty plea in relation to assisting an offender.
Sally Hipkins aged 29, of North Road, Tipton, West Midlands was given a 2 year prison sentence, suspended sentence for 2 years, and placed under the supervision of probation for 18 months for her part in laundering the money stolen following the robberies.
The first of the offences took place on the morning of 21 June, 2013, where a security courier arrived at a bank in Penkridge to make a series of cash deliveries; the courier was approached by a male brandishing a knife who demanded that he drop the cash box.
On July 10, 2013 a cash in transit courier was threatened with violence while delivering cash to a bank.
There were a further two offences in Shifnal, Shropshire a month later on 13 August, 2013 where a courier delivering cash to a bank was targeted and then on 8 October, 2013 where another courier was threatened while depositing cash to a bank.
Two more offences were committed in Telford when a cash in transit courier was delivering cash to a restaurant on 19 September, 2013 and a month later when collecting cash from a restaurant.
A further robbery was committed at a store in Kidderminster on 25 November, 2013 and outside a bank in Burntwood, Staffordshire on 19 December, 2013.
On 29 April, 2013 a cash in transit courier was approached by one of the defendants who then struck him over the head with a hammer before taking the cash box. Fortunately the courier was wearing a helmet and was not seriously injured.
All of the offences were committed against security firm, G4S Cash Solutions.
West Mercia Police led a joint investigation involving the West Midlands and Staffordshire forces. After linking some of the defendants to the first robbery in Penkridge and examining telephone evidence and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), officers arrested and subsequently charged Durant, Perry, Tonks and Hipkins with conspiracy to commit robbery.
Passing sentencing today, Judge Barrie said said:
“Hipkins knew exactly where the money was coming from and benefited from the robberies, Perry was fully involved in a series of professional armed robberies but it is acknowledged that his offending is less serious than Durant. Tonks played a very significant part in a very serious offence. Durant committed a sustained conspiracy with evidence of reconnaissance. It was clear that his role was a leading one, and that the conspiracy resulted in the stealing of a large amount of money.”
The Judge noted that if convicted by a jury, the shortest sentence for Adrian Durant would be 16 years.
Following sentencing Inspector James Bayliss said:
“This was a dangerous, organised crime gang who were engaged in committing offences which appeared to be getting progressively more serious. The robberies were clearly planned and they were more than happy to use significant violence if the need arose. This gang posed a real threat to communities across the region and society is a lot safer now that these criminals are behind bars.”
“This was a large scale investigation and hopefully the outcome will reassure people that such crimes will not be tolerated. Robberies of this nature are thankfully rare in our area but those involved in planning or carrying them out should be left in no doubt that we will use every resource at our disposal to ensure they are brought to justice.”
A spokesperson for G4S commented:
“We are pleased that those individuals responsible for attacking our cash in transit crews have been found guilty. G4S are committed to maintaining the safety of our staff and the general public and work closely with the police, to bring those responsible for attacking our crews to justice.”
