Robber threatened shop boss with knife

An Antrim man who finished a “days-long” drug binge by holding a large steak knife to the throat of a supermarket manager during a robbery was handed a six-and-a-half year sentence yesterday.
By The Newsroom
Published 7th Feb 2022, 22:43 BST

Ordering Joseph Valliday McDonnell to serve half that sentence in jail and half on licence, Judge Richard Greene told the 26-year-old his offences “calls for a significant, deterrent sentence of imprisonment of some length” and that if he had not confessed in the face of the “overwhelming evidence,” the sentence would have been 10 years.

At an earlier hearing McDonnell, from Main Street in Crumlin, entered guilty pleas to robbery, attempted robbery and possessing a knife with intent to commit robbery, all committed within the space of half an hour on December 4 2020.

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Armed with a knife, McDonnell had approached a man defrosting his car at 5.50am and demanded his wallet. The victim handed it over but with no money in it he offered to go to an ATM at a nearby Spar shop.

When they reached the shop and noticing a lorry was making a delivery, McDonnell entered the shop and ordered the manager to “open the tills and get the money”.

With the manager explaining there were no floats in the tills because it was so early, McDonnell repeatedly told him to “stop f****** about” while trying to prise open the cigarette cabinet with his knife.

McDonnell then grabbed the manager from behind, held the knife to his throat and threatened to slit his throat.

He eventually made off with £280 but was arrested a short time later.

A defence lawyer later said that McDonnell couldn’t remember what had happened “because he was so high on drugs”.