Stephen Ball, 31, a drug addict, was carrying a baseball bat when he and an accomplice – who had a machete – burst into a Spar store
A prolific robber who was released from prison early is back behind bars after he was caught on CCTV raiding a shop before being restrained by customers.
Drug addict Stephen Ball, 31, was carrying a baseball bat when he and an accomplice, who was armed with a machete, burst into a Spar store.
Staff were threatened by the raider with the machete, who demanded to be taken to the warehouse area of the shop on Abbey Road, Lower Gornal, Dudley, West Midlands.
Footage shows Ball jump behind the counter and empty cigarettes and tobacco into a bag during the raid which took place at around 10pm on October 23.
His partner fled with the cash, but dropped it because it was too heavy. He escaped in a waiting Rover and is yet to be traced.
Ball, who was on licence from prison after serving time for an earlier robbery, tried to open the shop door but was foiled when he pushed it instead of pulling it.
Customers tried to keep the door shut from the other side, but Ball smashed it with his baseball bat, showering one man with glass and forcing others to back off.
Staff were threatened by the raider with the machete, who demanded to be taken to the warehouse area of the shop
Customers tried to keep the door shut from the other side, but Ball smashed it with his baseball bat, showering one man with glass and forcing others to back off
He managed to escape from the shop before smashing the window of a woman’s car as she sat in it outside the shop, leaving her with cuts to her head.
Another member of the public arrived and punched Ball in the face before sitting on him until police arrived and arrested him.
Ball, of Tipton, West Midlands, was jailed for five years after he admitted robbery, criminal damage, assault, affray and possession of an offensive weapon at Birmingham Crown Court.
Judge James Burbidge QC awarded three members of the public who detained Ball £100 each.
He told Ball: ‘It was the sterling efforts of local people who used courage to stop you getting away.’
The court heard Ball and his accomplice burst into the Spar shop and told a terrified cashier: ‘If you don’t do as you are told you will get hurt.’
Ball jumped behind the store counter and started to empty cigarettes and tobacco into a loot bag
The court heard dad-of-four Ball had 74 previous convictions and was on licence from prison at the time of the raid after serving time for another robbery
While the woman was bundled into the backroom with a colleague, Ball leapt over the counter and started emptying cigarettes into a bag before he tried to escape.
The court heard dad-of-four Ball had 74 previous convictions and was on licence from prison at the time of the raid after serving time for another robbery.
Philip Brunt, defending, said that at the time of the raid, Ball was in the ‘grip of his drug addiction’ and he was after money to feed his habit.
He said: ‘It as a poorly planned raid. He knows it was a dreadful thing to have done.’
Speaking after the sentencing last Wednesday, Detective Constable Cal Sanders, of West Midlands Police, said: ‘Ball has received a substantial prison sentence for committing this offence, which had a level of violence.
‘I wish to thank the brave members of the public who helped detain a violent offender until police arrived.
‘This incident shook staff and members of the public alike and I hope that the sentence will go some way to easing their nerves.’
Philip Brunt, defending, said that at the time of the raid, Ball was in the ‘grip of his drug addiction’ and he was after money to feed his habit
Philip Brunt, defending, said that at the time of the raid, Ball was in the ‘grip of his drug addiction’ and he was after money to feed his habit