A thief who held up two petrol stations at knifepoint has been sentenced to six years in custody.
CID officers from North Yorkshire Police launched an investigation after Roy Holmes, 58, waved a lock-knife at staff at an Asda petrol station in Knaresborough, and another filling station in Harrogate, before making off with tobacco and cash. Holmes also robbed a Co-op store in Cullingworth.
In one of the forecourt robberies, Holmes put petrol in a car that had been fitted with false number plates, then entered the store and stuffed a bag with cigarettes as he threatened staff with the knife. North Yorkshire Police pulled his car over on the outskirts of Bradford as he made off from that incident, and on searching the vehicle officers found the stolen goods, the knife and fake number plates.
The Bradford man was arrested, charged with robbery and remanded in custody, while detectives went on to link him to the two other robberies.
He pleaded guilty to all three offences, and was sentenced by a judge at York Crown Court to six years’ detention.
Police Investigator David Carter, who worked on the investigation, said Holmes refused to speak during interviews, and that “he showed no accountability and no remorse to his victims, whose courage I would like to acknowledge today”.
Carter said the investigation was a joint effort between two CID teams who worked “relentlessly” to secure the conviction, and that while crimes of this nature are “thankfully rare in North Yorkshire”, they are nonetheless “very frightening for victims”. Carter added that he was “glad justice has been served and Holmes is behind bars”.
