AN ARMED robber who threatened to slice a terrified shopworker’s throat and kill him with a 12-inch knife has been locked up.
Finn Church burst into the One Stop shop in Monmouth town centre where manager Dane Wheatley was on duty on his own.
The defendant ripped off the Perspex screen separating him and his victim and screamed at him to hand over money from the till.
Newport Crown Court heard how the former private school student was high on drink or drugs.
Emma Harris, prosecuting, said: “At around 9am on July 25, the defendant entered the store and began shouting, ‘I want a ******* hundred pounds.’
“He was carrying a knife which Mr Wheatley said was 12 inches long.
“Mr Wheatly went behind the tills and the defendant started to move towards him.
“He told him, ‘I’m going to slice your ******* throat and kill you.
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“The defendant was enraged and ripped off the Perspex screen.
“Mr Wheatley feared for his life. He handed over a bundle of notes, £125 in total.”
The 20-year-old Church then walked out of the shop and was soon arrested after he was Tasered by armed police.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Wheatley said: “This has left me feeling weak and vulnerable.
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“I have been struggling to sleep. His eyes were empty.
“He walked off as if he had just taken money out of cashpoint.”
Church, of Kings Fee, Monmouth, admitted robbery and threatening another with a blade or pointed article.
He had no previous convictions.
Ieuan Bennett, representing the defendant, said: “I would ask the court to give him maximum credit for his early guilty pleas.
“He remembers very little of the incident.
“The defendant has never been in trouble before and comes from a very supportive family.
“He had a good education. He went to Monmouth School until his teens.
“The defendant had been the subject of bullying and moved to the local comprehensive school.”
Mr Bennett added: “He says he was hearing voices and there were concerns about his mental state at the time.
“The defendant may have been in a psychotic state.
“He made no attempt to hide his identity.”
The judge, Recorder David Elias QC, told Church: “You arrived at the store with no shoes on. You were brandishing a large knife.
“You were clearly under the influence of drink and drugs at the time.
“You told Mr Wheatley, ‘I’m going to slice your ******* throat and kill you.’
“You held the knife close to him.
“The court can’t even imagine what Mr Wheatley must have been feeling.”
Church was sent to a young offender institution for three years and ordered to pay a £190 victim surcharge following his release from custody.
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