Man jailed for nine years for two armed robberies

A 35-year-old man who committed robberies at two bookmakers in just over a week has been jailed for nine years and an additional five years on an extended licence.

At about 4pm on June 13 last year, William John Appleyard of no fixed address, entered S&D Bookmakers in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, threatened the lone employee with a knife and asked the cashier to hand over cash.

Along with a quantity of cash, Appleyard stole the cashier’s mobile phone before fleeing the scene. Fortunately, the employee was not physically hurt in the incident however, this would have been a very traumatic experience.

Nine days later, at about 3.45pm on June 22, Appleyard entered the Ladbrokes bookmakers in Stamford Road, Kettering, armed with a six-inch meat cleaver and threatened the manager before stealing £500 from the cash register.

Appleyard escaped on a bicycle but was later seen in a flat by a Northamptonshire Police dog handler where he again tried to run away. After a short foot chase, he was restrained by local officers.

As he was arrested, Appleyard assaulted a police officer, and during a search of his bag, a quantity of cash and Class A drugs were recovered along with the meat cleaver he had used in the robbery.

At Northampton Crown Court on Friday, January 20, Appleyard was sentenced to a total of nine years in prison - five years for the robbery in Market Deeping and a further four years for the offence in Kettering.

He was also handed an extended licence, which means once he has served his nine-year sentence, Appleyard will remain on licence for a further five years and if he commits another offence in this time, he will be returned to prison.

In addition to the prison sentence for the two robberies, Appleyard received a further two years and three months to run concurrently, after pleading guilty to the assault of an emergency worker and having with him an article with a blade or point.

Detective Constable Scott McKenzie, who led the investigation, said: “The sentence handed to William Appleyard reflects the seriousness of the offences he committed, and the physical and mental impact his crimes has had on his victims.

“Tackling serious violence is a matter of priority for Northamptonshire Police and I hope this case demonstrates our determination to bring those responsible for these crimes to justice and make our communities a safer place to live and work.”