Jailed: Machete pair targeted security vans in Walsall, Cannock and Birmingham
Two men who wielded a machete as they attempted to rob security vans in Walsall, Cannock and Birmingham have been jailed.
Adrian Treleven, 26, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, and Remelle Stewart, 18, of Church Vale, Handsworth Wood, was given five years.
Both men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery at earlier hearings at Birmingham Crown Court on September 3, 2020, and August 25, 2020, and were sentenced yesterday at the same court.
The charges covered three cash in transit robberies between January 24 and March 10, 2020, in Walsall, Sutton Coldfield and Cannock.
The men wielded a machete as they targeted lone cash-in-transit guards who were carrying large sums of money back to the van. They fled from the scenes empty-handed after the guards fought them off.
David Rouse of the CPS said: “The defendants carried out a deliberate pattern of serious offending in which they were prepared to use dangerous weapons to rob vulnerable security drivers, having scouted the locations of their offending beforehand.
"The prosecution team, built a strong case against the defendants to include vital CCTV footage and phone location evidence.
"With the overwhelming evidence mounted against them, the defendants had no choice but to plead guilty.
"It was extremely fortunate that no one was more seriously hurt during the attacks and I would like to commend the van drivers and other witnesses for their courage both in fighting off the defendants and coming forward as witnesses to tell the police what had happened.”
