Detectives have welcomed the sentencing of Stephen Maguire following a robbery in Hunts Cross on Christmas Eve 2017.
Maguire, aged 49, of East Dam Wood Road, Speke, was sentenced to five years and five months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday (8 January) after pleading guilty to robbery and threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a public place.
At around midday on Sunday, 24 December 2017, police received a report that staff at Sayers, Speke Road had been threatened by a man holding a hammer. He demanded money and made off from the scene with a quantity of cash. The victims were left incredibly shaken by the incident.
Maguire was forensically linked to the scene and following an extensive investigation, was arrested in Cheshire on Tuesday, 8 December 2020.
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Graeme Osborne said: “This incident caused great concern within the local community and it’s pleasing to see that Maguire has now rightly been jailed for a significant amount of time.
“He had no regard for the victims he threatened, and the incident has had a devastating impact on them both. I hope Maguire’s sentencing allows them some closure and peace, as they continue to move forward with their lives.
“We will not tolerate individuals that think targeting people and businesses in this way is acceptable and are committed to pursuing these offenders and putting them before the courts. If you have information on any other incidents, please come forward so we can take action.”
One of the victims said in her Victim Personal Statement: “The incident has changed me as a person, I have changed from a confident care free person to very anxious and nervous. I am scared by certain noises especially on my route to work. I feel extremely vulnerable. I am now scared to go to work and have had to undergo counselling in relation to this. I have had to move work locations as I was too afraid to work in the offence location. As it happened on Christmas Eve 2017, it completely dominated the Christmas as I was unable to hold Christmas dinner.
“Every Christmas is dominated by memories of the event. My anxiety rockets as I believe it would happen again. Also due to Covid all customers must wear a facial covering to enter the shop, this gives me flashbacks and reminds me of the event.”
A second victim said in her Victim Personal Statement: “I feel that I am constantly on edge and hyper vigilant at work, which makes it far less enjoyable. If anyone stands behind me or walks close, I have an uncontrollable urge to scream. This has happened on a number of occasions. Work used to be a place that I really enjoyed, which has been ruined by the constant fear of being robbed again.
“I am still greatly affected by the incident three years on, I feel it will stay with me always. It was truly the worst day of my life. The incident changed me as a person, it has stripped me of my confidence and trust and faith in people. I feel that if it happened again I would simply die.”
If you have information on criminality in your area, always call 999 in an emergency, and you can also pass information via @MerPol, 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
