Clacton Tesco: Two men jailed after bungled armed robbery
- Published
Essex Police said the two robbers "went to extreme lengths" to threaten the two security guards
Two men have been jailed, one for 22 years and another for 14 years, after a bungled supermarket armed raid.
Tony Turner, 39, of no fixed address, and Karl Lawrence, 32, of Walderslade Road, Chatham, Kent, denied attempted robbery in Clacton, Essex.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard shots were fired and two security guards threatened outside the Tesco store at Brook Retail Park on 18 January 2017.
The pair were found guilty of attempted robbery and firearms possession.
The two men, wearing masks, threatened security staff with a gun and demanded they handed over the money they were depositing into cash machines.
One of the men fired a gun twice between the security guards, but the bullets were blanks, Essex Police said.
DNA matched
The security staff managed to manoeuvre themselves out of danger, but the gun was again discharged when it became trapped in a door.
Turner and Lawrence left empty-handed and were seen by witnesses driving away in a silver Volvo, which was later recovered by officers.
When police examined the Volvo, which had been stolen from a dealership in Crawley, Sussex, officers found DNA which matched Turner and Lawrence.
The pair were found guilty in February.
Turner was sentenced to 22 years imprisonment and Lawrence was jailed for 14 years.
Det Sgt Sarah Winn said: "Turner and Lawrence went to extreme lengths to threaten the two men. They took a gun with them to intimidate the security officers and scare them into handing over a substantial sum of money.
"The victims didn't know the gun had blank bullets and, to them, the threat to their lives was very real."
- Published18 January 2017
