A knife-wielding thug threatened a group of children as he brandished a knife at a terrified shop worker.
Daniel Hayes, 31, of Clifton Crescent, Frodsham first raided the Spar at the 24-hour garage on Thomas Jones Way in Runcorn on the night of July 10 last year, followed by Spar in Palacefields, also Runcorn, the day after and then the One Stop Shop on Chester Road in Helsby on July 12.
Karl Scholz, prosecuting at Chester Crown Court today, told how Hayes was dropped off each time by driver Sam Oultran, 24, of Churchill Mansions, Runcorn, and Hayes would then approach the till, pull out a large kitchen knife from a bag and threaten staff to open the tills before making off with cash.
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Outside he would jump in a VW Passat driven by Oultran, who would then drive them away from the scene.
Each time, Hayes subjected his victims to terrifying threats.
At the garage on Thomas Jones Way where he stole £180, he brandished the knife at shopworker and Liverpool John Moores University student Moiz Khan and told him: “Give me all the money otherwise I will kill you.”
Two witnesses sitting in a car outside saw Hayes and Oultran make thumbs-up gestures to each other as Hayes entered the petrol station, and then realised what was happening as they saw Mr Khan with “his hands in the air”.
The women waited at the scene to speak to police after the incident.
At the Spar in Palacefields, Hayes told the cashier to “put it all in the bag” as he waved the knife at her, before reinforcing the demand with the chilling threat: “Just do it or you or the kids will get it.”
After demanding both tills be opened he fled with £450.
A colleague, Carl Mainwaring, who came to the cashier’s aid and emptied the other till, said he saw children “crying” in the shop.
Describing the fear inflicted by Hayes, Mr Scholz said: “The staff member speaks of how she panicked: that she believed he would jump the counter and use the knife on her.
“She stepped back.
“Hayes now told her, ‘Just do it or the kids will get it’.
“Believing that he was going to stab her she called out loudly for Carl.
“Carl Mainwaring heard her call his name.
“He saw her standing behind the till with her hands up, shaking.
“She broke down and started crying.
“He went across and positioned himself behind the till.
“He could see Hayes brandishing what looked like a large kitchen knife.
“He told them, ‘Just give me your money’.”
At the One Stop Shop in Helsby, Hayes pointed a knife at shopworker Olivia Bryan and after she replied she didn’t have the key he told her if she didn’t open the tills, “someone would get seriously hurt”.
As he fled, Hayes told store manager Scott Tregilgas: “Next time it will be your head”.
Mr Tregilgas had come to the tills after realising something was wrong and saw Hayes in a “frantic” state removing cash.
CCTV from the Palacefields Spar showed a third person taking part in the robbery as a lookout, and that robbery only - Amy Jody Burns, 31, of Stenhills Crescent, who could be seen speaking on the phone with Hayes and who then left the shop moments before Hayes approached the till and pull out the knife.
Police arrested Oultran on the Weston Point Expressway in Runcorn on July 13 after spotting the Passat on automatic number plate recognition cameras in the vicinity of the three shops at the times of the robberies.
His phone showed he had been in communication with Hayes on the days of the robberies.
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Oultran would later claim it was only after the Palacefields raid that he saw Hayes had a “black-handled 10-inch kitchen knife”, before backtracking and admitting he knew about the blade on all three occasions in his pleas.
The Cheshire Police investigation traced Hayes and Burns to the Paddington House Hotel in Warrington, where an armed unit stormed a barricaded bedroom door on July 14 to find Hayes and Burns inside and arrest them.
Hayes later pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery and three of possessing a bladed article, namely a knife; Oultran to three counts of robbery on the prosecution case - namely that he knew Hayes would use a knife; and Burns pleaded guilty on the day of trial to one count of robbery on the basis she acted as lookout only after being “intimidated” into doing so by Hayes and Oultran.
Mr Scholz said Hayes had 19 convictions for 53 offences including theft, burglary, attempted burglary, possessing an offensive weapon, possessing a blade, fraud and dangerous driving.
Oultran had no previous convictions, and Burns had five convictions for 18 offences, mainly for shoplifting, but also battery and possessing cocaine and heroin.
The robbery at the Spar in Palacefields put her in breach of a community order and suspended sentence.
Mr Scholz read victim impact statements showing how the shop staff behind the tills at the time of the robberies had all been left shaken by their ordeals.
Olivia Beesley, representing Hayes and Burns, said that although Hayes didn’t want to use his difficult “upbringing as an excuse”, she said it would provide “some insight into the context of where he is now”.
She said Hayes went into care at the age of 12 and found himself in the courts aged 15.
Later he developed substance misuse issues and drug-induced psychosis linked to crack cocaine and heroin, in addition to an emotionally unstable personality disorder and self-harm.
She said Hayes, who appeared in the dock wearing a tracksuit top and T-shirt and occasionally leaned his chin on his fist on the edge of the dock, was now taking the heroin substitute methadone and “would like to do some drug work in custody”.
He also wanted the court “to know he’s remorseful”.
Jeremy Rawson, defending Oultran, said his client had “never been in trouble before”, had no previous convictions and pleaded guilty at the first practical opportunity when he understood the prosecution case.
He also referred to a letter from Oultran showing his “high level of remorse” in addition to a character reference from a vicar.
Mr Rawson added Oultran, who wore a suit and glasses in the dock, had a “strong work record”, and his family were supportive but were “disappointed in him bringing disgrace and shame on them”.
Ms Beesley said Burns was “vulnerable with complex needs” and her crimes were due to drug addiction but she was “determined to change her ways” and was now on a methadone script.
Burns began offending when her mother “jumped off a bridge” to take her own life, Ms Beesley said, and Burns used crack and heroin “as a crutch” and had been sectioned under The Mental Health Act.
Burns’s mother was a “Class A drug user” and Burns became her sister’s carer.
Ms Beesley said Burns was “exposed to domestic violence” while growing up and was placed in the care of her grandparents aged 11.
Burns’s own two children now live with their grandparents, Ms Beesley added.
Recorder Michael Blakey, sitting, jailed Hayes for six years and Oultran for four years.
He handed Burns 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, with a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
Sending down Hayes, Recorder Blakey said: “You’ve not had a very good start in life, although that can’t be any excuse for the way you’ve behaved on these occasions and the previous occasions.
“You’ve had poor mental health arising from that background which is very sad, and you’ve involved yourself in substance misuse and you want to remain crime-free in the future.
“That can only benefit you and society in general.”
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