A man who robbed a shop in Nottingham while pretending to have a gun has been jailed. Paul McDonald, 48, of St Mary's Court in Derby, stormed into a shop in Wollaton Road on April 14, 2022 and demanded money while aiming something he was hiding under his jumper at a teenage shop worker.
The cashier immediately handed over a small amount of cash after believing the mysterious item being pointed at them was a gun. McDonald then ran out of the store, but the teenage worker then chased him.
The worker then tackled McDonald to the ground, to discover he didn't have a gun, and that it was a rolled-up piece of cardboard he had been hiding.
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McDonald managed to flee from the scene, dropping the cash he'd taken, before being discovered by Nottinghamshire Police a few minutes later following a search of the area. He was then arrested, with officers finding the cardboard he'd used to carry out the robbery.
McDonald was charged with robbery and having an imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and previously pleaded guilty to the charges. On Monday (July 18) at Nottingham Crown Court, he was sentenced to three years in prison.
Detective Constable Rob Marsden, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "McDonald's decision that day to storm into the store and threaten someone with what they believed was a gun was completely unacceptable and reckless in the extreme. At the time of the robbery, the shop worker had no way of knowing for sure that the object being pointed at him was anything other than a real firearm.
"The force will always respond robustly and decisively to every report we receive relating to a firearms offence, for the simple purpose of helping keep people safe. Likewise, we are absolutely committed to reducing incidents of robbery in our communities as we understand how much of a lasting impact this can have on people.
"This must have been a terrifying experience for the teenage victim, who will have believed they were in danger of being seriously hurt throughout the ordeal. While McDonald wasn't carrying a weapon during this incident, this was still an incredibly serious offence, so I’m pleased to see this has been reflected in the length of the sentence handed out to him."
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