Man jailed after robbing station shop and threatening staff – Newcastle

A man who threatened shop workers with a shard of glass to rob alcohol has been jailed following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

Liam Ellison, 36, and of Ladykirk Road in Elswick, was sentenced at Newcastle upon Tyne Crown Court on Friday 28 August to 3 years and 10 months' imprisonment having previously pleaded guilty to Robbery and Possessing an Offensive Weapon at an earlier hearing.

The court heard how, on Monday 29 June this year, Ellison entered the Sainsbury's at Newcastle Central railway station and went over to the alcohol aisle.

Shop security recognised him and watched as he perused the shelves in the aisle before selecting a pack of beer and taking it. The staff confronted him, causing him to drop the case of alcohol which smashed, scattering alcohol and shards of glass across the floor.

Ellison grew increasingly aggressive and confrontational, wielding a sharp metal tent peg towards staff. He then armed himself with one of the shards of broken glass from the floor, threatening to stab the staff if they didn't move.

Fearing that Ellison was going to seriously harm them, he was allowed to leave the shop with four cans of cider and BTP were immediately contacted.

Officers were able to track down Ellison within 20 minutes in the town centre, detaining him and finding the metal tent pole on him along with the stolen cider. He was promptly arrested and taken to police custody.  

In interview, despite being shown CCTV footage of him threatening staff and stealing the alcohol, he denied the offences and showed no signs of remorse.  

BTP Constable Arron Peacock said: "Liam Ellison acted disgracefully, threatening staff simply doing their job just to steal some cider. When challenged, he upped the ante by grabbing a shard of broken glass and threatening to stab them.

"We take all reports of robbery and violence extremely seriously, including threats made against staff working across the rail network. Thanks to the staff’s body worn cameras and the quick actions of our officers, we were able to arrest quickly arrest Ellison and secure a conviction.

"I urge anyone who is the witness of or victim to a robbery or violent threats on the railway network to report it to us by texting us on 61016. As in this case our officers can quickly deploy and make arrests to keep the railway, and all those who work on it, safe."