A schoolboy led to the capture of a machete-wielding robber who has been locked up for FIVE years.
Teenage heist man Jordan Waring was caught after an eagle-eyed, unidentified youngster tipped off police in the aftermath of a terrifying raid on a newsagents.
Cigarettes to the value of £6,000 were taken in the crime five days before Christmas, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Now Waring, 18, of Murray Street, Salford, has been sent to young offenders’ for five years after admitting robbery.
The 34-year-old female cashier was working at The Cliff newsagent at Great Clowes Street, Salford, at 5pm when four masked men came in with weapons. Three of men held baseball bats, Waring wielded a large blade and seemed to be in charge, shouting instructions to the others.
The woman cashier was ordered to get behind the counter and not to press the panic button, and a 77-year-old customer was ordered to get in the back of the shop with her.
The gang filled bags with cigarette, vodka and sweets and when another customer walked in unawares, he was bundled into the rear of the shop as well.
The gang made off with their haul of goods and £200 cash. But a young boy, whose age and name are not known, told arriving officers that he had seen two men running down the street with a bag, that they ran towards Acer Grove, and they had put the bag in the boot of a Ford Ka.
The boy’s account was key.
At Acer Grove, where Waring’s pal Antony McFeely lived, officers found the car and the stolen cigarettes in the boot.
And, inside McFeely’s house, they found a jacket and balaclava with Waring’s DNA on it.
McFeely, 22, admitted obstructing police and was jailed for 14 days alongside Waring.
Victims of the raid were left traumatised by their experience, the court heard. The pensioner bundled into the back was ‘petrified’ - and feared his wife would be left to ‘cope alone’. The cashier was ‘disgusted’, and no longer wanted to work at the shop.
Rick Holland, defending Waring, who has previous convictions for theft and battery, said the teenager hadn’t planned the job, but had been paid £200 to do it by people ‘who were not to be messed with’.
“He feels he’s learnt his lesson and will be keen to seek proper employment on his release”, Mr Holland added.
Sentencing, Judge Hilary Manley told Waring the raid ‘must have been a truly terrifying experience’ for the victims.
After reading testimonials from his relatives, the judge added: “You are from a loving and law-abIding family who have always tried to protect and guide you and are devastated about what you have done. You have let them down terribly.”
