Teenager in violent robbery is locked up

A teenager from the Black Country who was embroiled in a robbery that saw a homeowner tied up by masked men, while his girlfriend was threatened, was today behind bars.

Omari Barrett, aged 17, was one of a group of four males who forced their way into a home in Wolverhampton and terrified the couple who were inside renovating the house, a court was told.

The robbery gang then stole the victims' cars and hundreds of pounds worth of valuables.

Barrett, of Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, can today be named after the Express & Star successfully overturned an order made by Wolverhampton Crown Court banning his identification.

Sentencing him to five-and-a-half years detention, Judge John Maxwell said: "This was a dreadful robbery. It was utterly terrifying for the couple ."

Miss Rhiannon Jones, prosecuting, said John Walker and his girlfriend Christina Clinton were renovating their home in Inchlaggan Road, Fallings Park, on November 1, last year, when the robbers struck.

Four hooded men surged into the property and put Mr Walker in a headlock before binding his bands with cable ties and forcing Miss Clinton to stand facing a wall.

The couple were threatened with a four inch kitchen knife and wood saw.

Their car keys were taken and the robbers made off in Mr Walker's BMW and Miss Clinton's Fiat Punto, which were packed with valuables including TVs, a laptop, DVDs, and an iPod.

Miss Jones said the cars were abandoned three days later and police used DNA and fingerprints from a cigarette stub and baseball cap to link Barrett, who had committed a previous attempted robbery, to the attack. Mr Timothy Pole, defending, said Barrett was "very young" and had since shown signs of maturing.

Barrett, who pleaded guilty to robbery of a house using violence, has refused to identify the other three men involved.