JAILED: Jewel raids decoy locked up after £240k robbery on Smethwick jewellers

Steven Griffiths, aged 36, of Tippity Green, Rowley Regis, acted as a decoy for three armed robbers who raided SK Jewellers, on High Street, on December 31, 2016.

They then targeted Jai Jewellers in Cape Hill, Smethwick, on February 10 this year.

Griffiths pleaded guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court to robbery in relation to the SK Jewellers raid.

He also admitted a charge of attempted robbery regarding the attack on Jai Jewellers.

On each occasion, Griffiths gained access to the shops by dressing smartly and requesting access via a buzzer, the court heard.

At SK Jewellers, he held the security door open while three men armed with hammers and axes went in, smashing glass cabinets and taking £240,000 worth of jewellery before the panic alarm was triggered, filling the room with smoke as the gang escaped.

They tried to do the same at Jai Jewellers, however, the plan was scuppered due to the shop having two security doors.

While Griffiths held the second open, the first closed, meaning the armed robbers, none of whom have been caught, had to break through the door.

Griffiths was pushed by the shop's owner into the gap between the two doors, before being locked into that space while a get-away car collected the others.

He remained trapped until police arrived.

Mr David Bennett, prosecuting, said: "Both the robbery at SK Jewellers and the attempted robbery at Jai Jewellers were co-ordinated, professional efforts that caused serious damage both financially and psychologically to the owners of the shops.

"The defendant was not armed in either instance but he clearly had a part to play.

"Both shops are small, family-run businesses and there were children present on each occasion.

"A 12-year-old member of the family was present at SK Jewellers, while a one-year-old child was with a customer at Jai Jewellers."

Defence solicitor, Mr Lewis Perry, said that Griffiths had a long-standing problem with heroin, which he had managed to get over before he began using the drug again in the months prior to the first robbery.

He said: "In no way do I seek to remove blame from the defendant, he is completely aware of the damage this has caused. However, he was not armed and he is the only person to have been arrested in relation to this. The others may never be caught.

"He had gone back to using heroin a few months prior to the robbery at SK Jewellers and the others would have known that they were taking advantage of a man who was under the influence of heroin."

Judge John Wait sentenced Griffiths to 10 years concurrently for each offence.