Walsall man jailed for 18 raids on convenience stores
A man who raided convenience stores across the West Midlands, stealing £6,500 worth of cigarettes, is behind bars after being convicted for 18 separate offences.
Walsall man Paul Johnson – who was discovered hiding under a bed by police – was sentenced to three and a half years for his string of thefts.
They took place in shops in Walsall, Sandwell, Stafford, Rugeley and Lichfield, as well as stores in Birmingham, Solihull, Redditch and Bromsgrove.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how the 32-year-old from Sunnymead Way, Streetly, targeted the shops for cigarettes but became increasingly brazen with every theft, stealing money from tills as well as tablet computers and games consoles.
His spree started on August 10 when he went into Tesco in Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, and requested hundreds of cigarettes, which he claimed were to be sold in a pub at which he worked.
But the pub did not exist and when the cigarettes were placed on the counter, Johnson snatched the packets and ran away. It was a method he would use again and again.
Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Co-op, Poundworld and Carphone Warehouse were among his targets, as Johnson used increasing amounts of aggression and violence to pull off the robberies.
In one of the raids, at the Co-op in Queensway Rugeley, on August 31, he tried to attack staff with the bag full of stolen cigarettes as they chased him through the car park.
In total, Johnson got away with more than £6,500 worth of cigarettes in two months.
He was soon identified as a suspect, and covert police work led officers to an address in Portland Road, Birmingham, on November.
The house was locked down, and following a room-by-room search, Johnson was found hiding under a bed and was arrested.
He pleaded guilty to all 18 charges – as well as two drugs offences – which included theft, attempted theft and robbery as well as several offences where he drove away from petrol forecourts without paying for fuel.
Investigating officer Pc Andy Harman, from Walsall police, said he was sure that had Johnson not been arrested, he would still be committing robberies today.
He added: "These were serious offences which left staff members, many of whom were young or elderly, extremely shaken, not to mention the financial loss to the companies involved."
