A man has been jailed for a robbery at a shop in St Helens earlier this year.
Louis Moran, aged 19, was jailed for 4 years, 4 months for robbery and breach of a suspended sentence at Liverpool Crown Court.
At around 8.45am on Sunday 13 February, Moran entered the Best One shop on Charles Street to purchase cigarettes.
When the male member of staff asked Moran for ID, Moran directed racial slurs towards him, assaulted him and took the cigarettes.
Moran left the scene and the member of staff suffered a minor injury to his face.
Following a police investigation, including CCTV and forensic enquiries, Moran was arrested on 3 March. He was questioned by police, charged and remanded into custody.
He was jailed on Monday 8 August, following a guilty plea.
Detective Chief Inspector Ally Woods said: “At Merseyside Police, we simply will not tolerate such despicable attacks on people simply trying to earn an honest living in our communities.
“We welcome that Moran is now behind bars and hope that he can reflect on the consequences of his actions in jail.
“Robberies of businesses are far from victimless crimes – they have a terrifying impact on people living and working in Merseyside, who provide a vital service to local residents
“Our message to offenders involved in this type of criminality is clear – there is no hiding place. We will use all evidence available to us to track you down and put you before the courts.”
Anyone with any information on retail crime is asked to contact our social media desk @MerPolCC or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.
If, for any reason, you do not wish to report a hate crime to the police, the independent charity Stop Hate UK to run a 24/7 confidential helpline for all victims of hate crime on 0800 138 1625 or www.stophateuk.org. You can also download the Stop Hate UK reporting app on Google Play or the Apple App Store.
Across Merseyside, we also have a number of third party reporting centres including fire stations, citizens advice bureaus and hospitals. A list of locations can be viewed here: merseyside-third-party-hate-crime-reporting-centres.pdf
