A Crawley man has been sentenced to 44 months in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including burglary, two counts of robbery, and two counts of possession of a knife in public.
Michael Hooper was arrested and charged in connection with two separate incidents in the town. In the first incident, which took place on April 10th of last year, Hooper approached an elderly man at a cash point and demanded money. When the man refused, Hooper pushed him and snatched the cash from his hand before running away.
In the second incident, which occurred on May 22nd, Hooper entered a newsagents and attempted to purchase a bottle of whisky. When his card was declined, he took a bottle without paying for it and ran out of the store. He later returned to the shop with two Stanley knives, which he brandished towards staff behind the counter. Hooper then stole two further bottles of whisky before leaving the store.
Both incidents were captured on CCTV, which helped to identify Hooper as the perpetrator. He subsequently pleaded guilty to all five charges and was sentenced to 44 months in prison at Lewes Crown Court on February 24th.
Speaking after the sentencing, Inspector Steve Turner of the Crawley Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “While Hooper fully admitted the offences in police interview, it does not lessen the impact on the victims, who understandably feared for their own safety. Thankfully we were able to quickly identify him from the CCTV footage, and this demonstrates the value of our officers regularly patrolling the town and being able to recognise people of interest.”
Inspector Turner also reiterated the police’s commitment to preventing and responding to incidents of knife crime. “This case should serve as a reminder that we absolutely will not tolerate knife crime, and anyone caught in possession of a knife in public can expect to be dealt with robustly,” he said.
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