A man carried out a knife-point robbery at a convenience store shortly before attacking a man in the street with a large carving knife.
Timothy George, of Wellington Square, Retford, had stormed through the street where he lived the middle of the day visibly carrying the knife in front of numerous shocked onlookers.
But a swift emergency response by the police meant that 42-year-old George was quickly in cuffs – and he is now serving a six-year jail term.
The ordeal started when George went into a shop in Wesley Road, brandishing a knife and pointed it at the staff member demanding money from the till at around 12pm on 4 April.
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Having been refused, he left angrily waving the knife around and picking up a crate of beer without making any attempt to pay.
He grabbed a man off the street and held the weapon to his throat whilst trying to drag him into his flat. The victim managed to break free but had been cut on his arm by the knife.
George then ran after him again and was seen grabbing the victim by the scruff of the neck and holding the knife to his back before dragging him down an alleyway.
Police were contacted by several concerned members of the public and were quickly on the scene and found the men – as well as recovering the knife from George’s back pocket.
He was charged with robbery and two counts of possessing a bladed article.
He was sentenced yesterday (Friday 17 September) at Nottingham Crown Court to serve six years in jail and a further three years on extended licence meaning that if he commits any further offences during that period, he’ll be straight back to prison. He had pleaded guilty at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court at a previous hearing.
Neighborhood Sergeant Rob Holmes said: “We were really concerned that a man was on the loose on the streets of Retford with a large knife which had been seen by lots of people and was visibly threatening another man.”We quickly tracked them down thankfully before the incident resulted in any serious injuries.
“George proved himself to be a violent knife carrier, capable of committing violence against others.
“This won’t be tolerated in Nottinghamshire and we are committed to driving down knife crime offences. We have two dedicated knife crime teams who proactively target knife carriers and hot spot areas and offenders will find that we are cracking down on their illicit activity.
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“We also have a whole raft of measures, working alongside partners, to prevent knife crime too, which has seen offences fall by 15 per cent in the last year.”Offenders will find themselves being treated with the utmost severity which has been reflected in this lengthy sentencing.”
