During one incident the accused stabbed a pharmacist in the hand after smashing a glass window installed for Covid
A sentence totalling 12 years has been imposed upon a man who targeted a number of businesses in Belfast whilst armed with weapons.
During one of the incidents, Anthony McCrea stabbed a pharmacist in the hand after smashing a glass window installed for Covid.
The 39-year old, who was deemed as a ‘dangerous offender’ by both the Probation Board and Judge Catherine Chasemore, was handed an extended custodial sentence.
This comprises of nine years in custody followed by an extended licence period of three years.
With an address as HMP Magilligan, McCrea was sentenced for two separate sets of offences which he committed over three years ago. Belfast Crown Court heard on Monday that around 8.20pm on January 17, 2022, McCrea and a second male entered the Winemark store on the city’s Beersbridge Road.
The pair were both hooded and wearing face masks and gloves and once inside, McCrea walked up to the counter, produced a knife and told a female member of staff ‘don’t f**k me about, open the till.’
After she opened the till, McCrea emptied the contents and whilst this was going on the second male started filling a black bag with alcohol and cigarettes
McCrea then took the female worker to the back office where a second member of staff was cashing up. After demanding they open the safe, McCrea then stole more money, cigarettes and tobacco.
At this point, the second robber entered the back room where further bags were filled with goods. The incident lasted around five minutes and when police attended the scene, the staff were visibility upset.
Officers located a sum of cash and a knife on the street outside and when the weapon was examined, McCrea’s DNA was found on it. When his home was searched, a tracksuit matching the clothing worn by one of the robbers was located in the property.
An estimated £6,370’s worth of goods were taken during this robbery along with around £1,000 in cash – some of which had been allocated to a cancer charity and was stolen from the safe.
Three weeks later, McCrea entered a pharmacy on the Whitewell Road and after approaching a member of staff, he produced a knife in his left hand and demanded Diazepam.
He then moved to the till, asked how it was opened – then after a brief conversation with the worker, he left the premises He subsequently pleaded guilty to robbery on January 17, 2022 and attempted robbery on February 7, 2022.
McCrea also pleaded guilty to six charges arising from a robbery at a chemist’s on the Antrim Road in Belfast. On March 5, 2022 he entered the premises then asked a female employee for a prescription for James Watson.
As the Covid pandemic was still an issue, measures including an over-counter glass screen with a staff access door was in situ. Alarmed by McCrea, the pharmacist locked the door and told him there was no prescription for the name given.
McCrea became agitated, kicked the locked door then produced a hammer which he used to smash the glass screen. Following this, McCrea forced his head and arm through the broken screen. The pharmacist was able to grab the hammer from McCrea, who then produced a knife which he used to stab the pharmacist in the hand.
This resulted in a puncture wound which required stitches, dressing and anti-biotics. Two days later, a vehicle was stopped by police on Dunmore Walk in Belfast. McCrea was the front seat passenger and when he was searched, two knifes were found in his jacket.
He was charged with, and admitted, six offences namely wounding with intent, criminal damage, attempted theft and three counts of possessing a weapon in a public place.
Describing McCrea’s criminal record of 82 previous offences as “appalling” and “significant”, Judge Chasemore said the defendant “has been offending since he was 13 years old.”
Judge Chasemore said she had also considered defence submissions made by barrister Richard McConkey KC. This, she said, included McCrea’s drug addiction which began when he started smoking cannabis aged ten and which also included an addiction to heroin when he was 20.
McCrea claimed that at the time of offending, he was using around £500 worth of cocaine a day and was in debt to drug dealers. Also accepted by the Judge was McCrea’s “difficult childhood”, his struggles with mental health and the remorse he has expressed.
She also noted that McCrea has not accessed any support for his “long-standing history of substance misuse” whilst on remand.
Regarding his criminality, Judge Chasemore said McCrea had targeted small businesses “which are the most vulnerable” whilst using weapons.
She added that the staff members “must have been terrified by what the defendant put them through.”
The Judge said that as McCrea has been deemed to pose a significant risk of serious harm, she was imposing the extended custodial sentence to protect the public.
She also granted a Destruction Order for the weapons seized.
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