Murderer's son jailed for robbery

The son of a convicted murderer has been detained indefinitely for public protection after threatening to shoot a woman during a robbery in Wolverhampton.

Ricky Barrett, 22, beat up a man and woman and stole their hire car after they stopped outside a shop in Wolverhampton on the way home from a night out. The judge described the crime in part as "gratuitous violence".

The thug, of Yew Tree Lane in Tettenhall, targeted Veerarjun Bains as he got out the Renault Megane in Jeffcock Road, Penn Fields, the city's crown court heard yesterday.

Barrett demanded the keys and launched a vicious attack on the man, kicking and punching him to the ground.

He then turned on Kimberley Johnson as she tried to intervene.

Recorder Nicholas Cartwright told him: "In part this was gratuitous violence. She wanted to get you to stop and so you set upon her, striking a hard blow to her head.

"You were told to take the keys and she was so angry that she shouted at you as you left the scene. You yelled back: 'Shut up or I will shoot you' while making out to be fiddling with your clothing."

Barrett did not produce a gun and there was no evidence that he had one, although he had been armed with weapons while committing similar crime in the past, the court was told.

The Megane was found three days later on false plates being driven by presumed associates of Barrett.

But a handbag and two mobile phones in the car when it was stolen have never been recovered.

Barrett was found guilty of the March 13 robbery and assault after trial.

He carried out the crime while on licence after being freed early from a four-year period of detention for similar offences, the court heard.

Mr Michael Anning, defending, said: "He had a traumatic upbringing with his own father given life for murder when he was just a baby."

Recorder Cartwright ruled that Barrett should serve at least four-and-a-half years behind bars before release was considered.