Chilling footage shows security guard being attacked by axe-wielding robbers
West Midlands UK Aug 10 2019
Shocking video shows a security guard being attacked by an axe-wielding gang of robbers, who escaped with £75,000.
The terrifying clip was released by West Midlands Police after three men were jailed for nearly 60 years for the assault.
The guard is seen closing a petrol station gate behind him before the gang barged through it and marched him into a back office.
He suffered a smashed cheekbone when he was hit in the face with an axe while the robbers demand he hand over cash.
The thugs escaped with £75,000 and the worker was left so traumatised he resigned.
An investigation by the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) identified the gang and proved their involvement in two other robberies.
The gang kicked off a wave of robberies last February when Ashley Bell, Marcus Cohen and Thomas Bruce forced their way into a Co-op in Stretton, Derbys., at around 6am.
Terrified workers were tied up with cable ties and threatened with a crowbar before the gang made off with £13,000, stamps and lottery cards.
The gang, joined by another man, Connor Sanderson, struck again on March 6 last year at Texaco on Black Prince Avenue in Cheylesmore.
As well as the security guard’s bodycam video, CCTV footage shows Cohen’s girlfriend Charlene Shaw acting as a lookout during the raid.
At one point Shaw even walks across the garage forecourt in a pair of pink slippers to check on the gang’s progress.
She pretended to offer help to the security guards but in fact was trying to find out what information they were going top pass onto the police.
The final raid was at Co-op in Shepshed, Leicestershire, just before 6am on May 10.
Three men forced their way into the shop using crowbars.
After Sanderson, Cohen and Bell were arrested for another burglary, they were interviewed in prison about the robberies.
Cops found text messages between the gang discussing stolen cigarettes, CCTV footage showing gang members carrying out recces of targets and footage of the men wearing clothing they later wore during robberies.
On August 1 Cohen, Bell and Sanderson, all of no fixed address, were jailed for nearly 60 years after admitting robbery and theft charges at Warwick Crown Court.
Cohen, 39, was jailed for 21 years, while Bell, 33, was jailed for 22 years and Sanderson, 21, was sentenced to 14 years behind bars.
Other gang members, Thomas Bruce, 29, of no fixed address, was found guilty of conspiracy to rob and will be sentenced on August 28.
Charlene Shaw, 39, of Hinckley, Leics., was found guilty of conspiracy to rob and will also be sentenced on the same day.
Scott Bowman, 29, of Radford in Coventry, is wanted for questioning as part of the same series.
Detective Chief Inspector Ronan Tyrer, of West Midlands ROCU, said: “This was a really violent gang, whose members were really well known in the Cheylesmore area.
“The body worn video speaks for itself and shows just how awful this ordeal was.
“They used high levels of violence to get what they wanted, with a total disregard for their victims.
“Those victims have recovered from their physical injuries, but their ordeals have had a lasting effect.
“The length of the sentences should send a strong message to those involved in organised crime that they can expect to spend many years in prison when we catch them.”
Mirror News
