A BURTON jeweller was battered and left traumatised by two robbers who posed as customers and then stole £5,000 of gold rings and £700 cash.
Victim Javed Aslam was punched and kicked after letting Ali Owadh and Mohammed Hussain into his shop in Uxbridge Street.
Stafford Crown Court heard that Hussain had gone to the premises — Ali Jewellers — the previous day to arrange the purchase of some jewellery.
The whole robbery was captured on closed circuit television cameras and the footage was played to the court.
Hussain, 19, of Marston Green, Solihull, and Owadh, 18, of Abdon Avenue, Bourneville, Birmingham, both admitted a charge of robbery.
Hussain was sent to youth custody for four years while Owadh got 32 months’ youth custody.
Judge Mark Eades told them: “This was a pre-planned robbery of a jeweller’s shop.
“You, Hussain went in the day before asking to buy a ring.
“It was a ruse — I have no doubt it was to carry out a recce (sic) and to disarm the jeweller. The next day, you went back with your co-defendant.
“You both had a clear strategy, — you were going to use force and surprise, take Mr Aslam to the ground and grab as many items as you could before leaving.
The robbers fled in a car which was stopped on the A38 30 minutes later.
Hussain wasn’t in the vehicle at that stage.
However, he had touched the counter in the shop and left a fingerprint which identified him.
The judge heard that Hussain had five previous convictions for robbery — going back to when he was only 10.
In a victim impact statement, part of which was read to the court, Mr Aslam said he had been unable to reopen his shop since the incident.
“He explains this robbery has had a terrifying effect on him,” said Mr Sullivan.
“Since then, he has not been in his shop, he can’t sleep well and has nightmares.
“He’s not in a position to open his business again.
“It has affected his wife and children.
and he feels vulnerable and intimidated.
“He had already got increased security in the premises — all to no avail.
“He’d built up his business over the last 13 years, never taking a day off.” The CCTV footage showed the robbers being admitted via a steel cage inside the shop.
At first they shook hands with Mr Aslam, but then he was grabbed, forced to the ground and held down.
Ben Williams, defending Hussain, said his client had a mental age of only seven or eight.
All his previous robberies were street muggings committed between the ages of 10 and 15.
Stefan Kolodynski, defending Owadh, said his client was only 17 at the time of the offence.
“He was recruited on the morning of the robbery,” Mr Kolodynski said.
“He was the first to mete the violence out to the unfortunate shopkeeper, but he didn’t mete out gratuitous violence.”
