Three burglars targeted a family home and threatened to kill a baby if the mum didn't give them gold.
Three men burst into the family's home in Wrexham in broad daylight coming face-to-face with the homeowner Berinder Dhaliwal. One of the burglars snatched her baby girl from her hands while stripping the victim of her jewellery including her wedding ring.
Mrs Dhaliwal, who had undergone a caesarean section just weeks before, was also punched in the abdomen. The thugs threatened to kill her baby if she did not say where her gold was stored. Mrs Dhaliwal pointed to the jewellery box which the thugs took the contents of before fleeing.
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Today John Price, 22, of no fixed abode, admitted conspiring to commit robbery and assisting an offender by impeding apprehension. Scott Powell, 23, of Y Wern in Wrexham, who helped move the getaway vehicle, admitted the same charges. Patrick Flynn, 19, of Station Court in Gwersyllt, admitted a charge of conspiring to commit robbery.
Mold Crown Court heard today how the burglars had planned to strike a house in Wrexham, scouting out a property in a white van before pulling up just before 2.30pm in September 2020. The men, donning surgical masks and dark clothes, smashed in through the glass patio doors believing the house was empty.
But minutes after their arrival they were "shocked" to find Mrs Dhaliwal on the landing clutching her baby girl. Prosecuting, Simon Mintz, said the men were "not deterred by her presence" and instead piled in to snatch her jewellery.
North Wales Live reported Mrs Dhaliwal was flung onto the bed and punched in her abdomen where her caesarean section wound was still healing. One burglar pointed what the victim believed to be a screwdriver at her and said they would kill the baby if she didn't tell them where to look.
The terrified mum took this threat seriously and "begged" them not to hurt her child as she pointed them towards a jewellery box. They swiped the contents before escaping, leaving the battered and bruised mum-of-two to alert the police.
In a victim impact statement taken in April 2022, the victim described feeling "persistent anxiety and insomnia". She now does not wear jewellery and has only been able to return to her work as a pharmacist part-time since the incident.
An investigation found "various items" belonging to the family at Powell's home, said Mr Mintz. Police also found clothing that linked Flynn to the raid and discovered that the gang tried to hide the black Volkswagen at a different address to "throw the police off".
In the days that followed, the court also heard that Flynn had called his older brother, who is currently in prison for his role in the crime, talking about the robbery. These had been recorded and heard him say: "I'm caught, aren't I? I'm getting years."
Carl Woolf, defending Price, said that his client is already serving a prison sentence imposed by Luton Crown Court for a "series of burglaries" he committed after this crime. He was in the area visiting family from Wrexham at the time.
Mr Woolf told the judge that Price turned to crime in order to fund his drugs habit, which saw him spending hundreds of pounds a day on "a combination crack and heroin" to smoke. His time in prison so far has been the longest he's remained drug-free.
Defending Flynn, Andrew Green said his client was "a man way out of his depths" when he got involved in the raid. He accepted that his "fate is sealed" and that a long spell in prison awaited him for these "truly terrible actions".
However, Mr Green said Flynn came to court in order to "face the music" and expressed "nothing but genuine remorse". He told his solicitors he would "give his left arm" to apologise to the victim.
Defending Powell, Matthew Curtis said his client had " limited maturity and sophistication" when he helped try and hide the car by his mother's home after the burglary had been committed. He added that Powell was "an ambitious and industrious young man" who worked all his life in a variety of industries.
A co-accused youth, represented by Phil Tully, did not attend court for sentencing. It was explained that the 17-year-old's "concerned" family alerted the legal team that he has been missing from his home since yesterday (May 30).
The court heard how he had attended every hearing previously and that his action is "completely out of character". Judge Niclas Parry issued a warrant to apprehend him and bring him before the courts.
Judge Parry branded the raid an "appalling and extremely serious crime" that left the victim with "severe psychological harm". He was of no doubt that jail time would be the only justifiable punishment.
He said: "This was a pre-planned attack on a property where you knew an Asian family lived. Because of that, you believed that gold would be kept there.
"Rather than leave after being confronted with a lone female and her two-month-old baby, you called out for each other and charged her. You ripped a necklace from her neck and her wedding ring from her finger and brandished a weapon as she held onto her baby."
Price was jailed for seven and a half years. Flynn was handed six years and two months whilst Powell was given one year and nine months.
