Axe gang's Black Country reign of terror lasted months
For months they terrorised shop keepers in the region – threatening staff with weapons to make them hand over cash and cigarettes.
After covering their faces they would rush in waving an axe or hammer to ensure victims did not resist.
They stuffed bags with packets of cigarettes from display cabinets and took cash from the till or safe before fleeing – all within a minutes.
Their reign was brought to an end by police as two of the gang of four were caught at the Co-op Store, Overfield Road, Russells Hall, Dudley.
Police took a 999 call alerting them to a raid in progress and found 22-year-old Jake Williams on the roof while Andrew Scanlon, 23, was found hiding at the back of the building.
They were in a four strong masked and armed gang who pounced minutes earlier as staff arrived. Terrified workers were threatened with an axe or hammer and bundled into the store.
The mobile phone of a worker was smashed as staff were forced to open the safe and the gang prepared to flee with cash and up to £10,000 worth of cigarettes. Then police swooped.
Williams of Meldon Drive, Bradley, Bilston, and Scanlon of Oak Road, Tipton, were arrested at the scene while Anthony Everitt, of Wallace Road, and Stuart Plant, of Daley Road, both Bradley, were tracked down and in days.
At Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday all admitted their role in the raid while Everitt, Plant and Williams also admitted being part of a conspiracy to commit robberies between May 22 and September 23. Eight raids are known to have involved one or more of those three.
The breakthrough came as a specialist team of detectives investigated 26 robberies on convenience stores. There is no doubt that others played their part in a rash of robberies but there was a significant drop in that kind of crime following the arrest of Everitt, Plant and Williams.
Detective Sergeant Mike Greenland. who led the team of detectives who investigated the spate of raids, said: "We were looking at a number of commercial robberies predominantly committed at retail outlets like Co-op and Spa shops and 24 hour garages.
"In all of these an axe or hammer was used to threaten mainly female members of staff.
"The offences which have now been admitted by these defendants targeted premises where vulnerable members of staff were on duty and a dangerous team of criminals has been taken off our streets." All four were remanded in custody to appear again on May 7.
