A robber who was arrested 24 hours after carrying out a terrifying knifepoint raid on a shop has been jailed.
Mark Kavanagh, aged 36, threatened staff with a blade while demanding cash from the till at the store in High Street, Stanton Hill, near Sutton-in-Ashfield.
He fled the scene after taking the cash and stealing alcohol but was tracked down by police after they carried out house-to-house inquiries and studied CCTV footage in the area.
Kavanagh was handed a custodial sentence of eight years and four months – which will include four years on licence – at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (1 March 2023).
He was convicted of robbery and possession of a knife in a public place.
Kavanagh from Sutton-in-Ashfield had gone into the store with his dog at around 8.30 pm on 23 November 2022 and became aggressive when staff said dogs were not allowed inside.
He grabbed bottles of booze from the fridge and put them in a bag before going to the counter and pulling out the knife.
The frightened staff put cash inside the bag as they were scared Kavanagh was going to harm them. While they were filling the bag, he repeatedly banged his clenched fist and the blade against the counter.
Detectives tracked down Kavanagh the following evening in Sutton-in-Ashfield and arrested him. They found the clothing he had worn during the shop raid inside a property and a knife on his bedside table.
Detective Sergeant Matt Dumbrell, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This must have been a very frightening ordeal for the shop staff and no one should have to face such violent, threatening behaviour while earning a living.
“Thankfully officers were able to catch up with Kavanagh quickly and I hope this reassures the community that we take this sort of incident extremely seriously.
“We know the impact it must have had on the victims and I am grateful for their help with the investigation.
“Nottinghamshire Police simply won’t tolerate this kind of violence and – as this case shows – will work tirelessly to bring offenders to justice.”
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