Pembroke Dock man robbed newsagents and stole from B&M

Anthony Bentley, 49, appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday, May 4 and pleaded guilty to theft and robbery.

Ian Wright, prosecuting, told the court that Bentley, of Meyrick Street, was a regular customer at Spencers Newsagents on Bush Street in Pembroke Dock.

He entered the store at 6am on April 1 and bought a bottle of vodka, and again at 3pm where he attempted to get cash back from a bank card. This did not work, and there were two other customers in the store, so he left.

He returned an hour later with his hood pulled up and wearing a baseball cap.

“He went straight behind the till and acted aggressively towards the member of staff,” Mr Wright said. “He demanded that she opened the till for him.”

As this was happening, the member of staff – an 18-year-old woman – called her boss, who could hear the incident over the phone. At one stage, Bentley snatched her phone from her.

“He said he wasn’t afraid to hurt her if she didn’t open the till,” Mr Wright told the court.

Bentley grabbed £280 in cash from the till, but as he tried to make off, the member of staff restrained him. He broke free and exited the shop, before returning to place her phone back on the counter, and leaving again.

The defendant was arrested at a nearby property at 4.46pm that day, after police officers found him hiding in a bedroom wardrobe.

He had £60 cash on him, and officers found a silver wrap on the table containing brown powder – thought to be heroin.

Mr Wright said Bentley was “obstructive and uncooperative” upon his arrest, and was verbally abusive to the officer who tried to conduct his interview.

In a statement read out in court by Mr Wright, the member of staff said she had been left “unable to sleep” since the incident and “felt unsafe wherever she goes”.

She said the incident had “impacted every aspect of her life”, and she now felt “anxious” when serving male customers in work.

The court heard that Bentley was previously at the B&M store in Pembroke Dock on January 27.

There, he loaded a trolley with electrical and home items – including a microwave, a soup maker, a George Foreman grill, and bedding – totalling £229.56.

Anthony Bentley admitted stealing more than £200 of goods from B&M in Pembroke Dock. (Image: Google Street View)

He pushed the trolley straight past the tills and out to his car, where he was confronted by a member of staff.

“He was verbally aggressive towards her and swore at her,” said Mr Wright. “He said his wife was in the store with a receipt.”

Bentley then pushed the trolley towards the member of staff and got in his vehicle.

Mr Wright said the defendant had a “substantial” number of previous convictions, including 25 offences of burglary between 1985 and 2012, two convictions for robbery, and others including wounding, ABH, and common assault.

While the victim’s statement was read out, the defendant could be heard saying “sorry” over the video link.

James Hartson, representing Bentley, said: “I have defended him a number of times in the recent past. This is the first time he’s said sorry for his offending.”

Mr Hartson said Bentley was “deeply ashamed – not just of these offences but of his offending in general”.

He said the defendant had “recently relapsed in to heroin abuse after a number of years of abstinence”.

“Having relapsed in to heroin addiction he had accrued drug debts and his addiction had worsened.”

Addressing Bentley, Judge Huw Rees said: “You aggressively and persistently confronted the shop assistant. You pushed her. You threatened her. You snatched her phone.

“She was on her own. This was a frightening experience for her. It will live with her for a considerable amount of time – if not forever and a day.”

He sentenced Bentley to four years and eleven months for the robbery from the newsagents, and six months, running concurrently, for the theft from B&M.

Judge Rees commended the bravery of the member of staff throughout the robbery.