Robber held up shop with pair of scissors

A Dublin robber who came north in an effort to make a fresh start only to carry out yet another robbery was sentenced to a total of six years.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Feb 2020, 15:39 BST
PACEMAKER BELFAST EXTERIOR VIEW OF MAGHABERRY PRISON ONTHE OUTSKIRTS OF BELFAST. 16/12/09 Deficiencies remain in the Northern Ireland prison regime, an inspection of the treatment of vulnerable prisoners has found. Inspectors found the daily regime for vulnerable prisoners had changed little between an inspection in January and a follow up inspection in the summer. The latest inspection was ordered after the death of prisoner Colin Bell in Maghaberry jail in August 2008.PACEMAKER BELFAST EXTERIOR VIEW OF MAGHABERRY PRISON ONTHE OUTSKIRTS OF BELFAST. 16/12/09 Deficiencies remain in the Northern Ireland prison regime, an inspection of the treatment of vulnerable prisoners has found. Inspectors found the daily regime for vulnerable prisoners had changed little between an inspection in January and a follow up inspection in the summer. The latest inspection was ordered after the death of prisoner Colin Bell in Maghaberry jail in August 2008.
PACEMAKER BELFAST EXTERIOR VIEW OF MAGHABERRY PRISON ONTHE OUTSKIRTS OF BELFAST. 16/12/09 Deficiencies remain in the Northern Ireland prison regime, an inspection of the treatment of vulnerable prisoners has found. Inspectors found the daily regime for vulnerable prisoners had changed little between an inspection in January and a follow up inspection in the summer. The latest inspection was ordered after the death of prisoner Colin Bell in Maghaberry jail in August 2008.

Jailing 39-year-old Anthony Corley, Judge Neil Rafferty said the most aggravating feature of his case were his five previous convictions imposed in the Irish Republic for similar robberies.

And the Belfast Crown Court judge warned Corley, originally from south Dublin and with an address in Northern Ireland, as c/o of Maghaberry Prison, his opportunities for changing his life were closing fast.

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Corley pleaded guilty to what Judge Rafferty said was often described “ubiquitiously as a sweetie-shop robbery” while armed with a pair of scissors, terrifying the young shop assistant, putting her in fear of her life, which was a horrible aspect of this type of offence.

He added later while it was a difficult a case the appropriate and necessary function of any judge was the requirement of a deterrent sentence.

Earlier prosecution counsel David Russell told the court that a masked and hooded Corley went into the Belfast city centre ‘express shop’ on March 20 last year and demanded cash and cigarettes. He added while the robbery was unsophisicated, the masking and use of scissors showed a minimal degree of planning and premeditation.

Mr Russell said that Corley was arrested a week later after a “trawel of CCTV cameras” in the area showing the robber making his escape in a taxi. As a result, said the lawyer, police were able to trace Corley back to his own door.

Judge Rafferty told Corley he would serve half his sentence in custody followed by the same period of supervised release for the robbery.