A drunken robber who impersonated John Wayne as he held up a shop at gunpoint has had his “unduly lenient” sentence increased by top judges.
Robert David Quinn, 37, had downed a “huge quantity” of booze and Valium before raiding the Lifestyle Express shop, on St Helen’s Road, Swansea, on June 7.
He then demanded more alcohol whilst brandishing what appeared to be a sawn-off shotgun.
And he left shop staff baffled by doing an impression of the famously bandy-legged screen cowboy.
He went on to hold up a woman at knifepoint while she sat in her car on the same night.
A 'dangerous offender'
Quinn, of Townhill Road, Mayhill, Swansea, pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon and robbery at Swansea Crown Court earlier this year.
He was jailed for six years eight months in August.
But the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright QC, decided his punishment was far too soft and referred the case for top judges to look at again.
On Tuesday Lord Justice Davis, Mrs Justice Carr and Mr Justice William Davis ruled that Quinn ought to have been deemed a “dangerous offender”.
The judges, sitting at London’s Appeal Court, added a four-year extended licence period to his jail term.
The ruling means Quinn will have to serve at least two-thirds, rather than half, of his prison sentence.
He will also remain on licence for four extra years after his release.
'He produced what seemed to be a sawn-off shotgun'
The court heard that Quinn was high on Valium and booze before he went into the family-run shop.
He produced what seemed to be a sawn-off shotgun with which he terrified the shopkeeper and store security guard.
The unfazed assistant “remarkably” carried on bagging up Quinn’s shopping despite him revealing the gun and performing his bizarre impression.
After Quinn had been handed the shopping bags, it became clear that he was struggling to hold the gun and the stolen goods.
At that point, the store security guard struck, shoving him outside the shop, from where he eventually wandered off.
Less than 30 minutes later he struck again, approaching a lone woman in a parked car. He threatened her with a knife before taking money and cigarettes.
Crimes described as 'amateur' and 'pathetic'
After his arrest, Quinn told a probation officer that he had a clean previous record.
But while he had no offences to his name in Wales or England, it later turned out he had an extensive criminal history in Ireland.
That included a previous offence of robbery, eight burglaries and 16 counts of being intoxicated in a public place.
Lawyers for Quinn at Tuesday’s hearing described his crimes as “amateur” and “pathetic” and not the work of a dangerous man.
But Lord Justice Davis said: “Within a short space of time of the shop raid he had armed himself with a different weapon.
“His antecedent history, in particular, included a conviction for robbery.
“In some respects what happened was amateurish but, given the presence of the imitation firearm and the knife and the effect on the victims, pathetic is not a word to describe this.
“The Crown Court judge failed to deal with dangerousness and, in the end, imposed a sentence which was unduly lenient.
see full story at - http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/drunken-robber-who-impersonated-john-10533577
No comments:
Post a Comment