A Carlisle crook who robbed a city betting shop worker less than two hours after burgling a bingo hall down the road has been jailed for more than four years.
David Scott Pattinson, 31, went into the Coral store on Denton Street at around 6pm on August 7 last year with a face covering pulled up to the top of his nose and only eyes visible.
After the only other two customers left, Pattinson wrote a note which he handed to the lone female employee after walking towards her.
“I’ve been watching the shop for a while,” it read. “I know where you live. I’m homeless. I’m destitute. I have a knife.”
After Pattinson told the woman “I’ve no other option”, she pressed the panic alarm and started to dial 999. Pattinson then vaulted over the counter, prompting the worker to retreat to a staff area and press her body weight against a door to prevent the robber entering.
When she peeped through soon after, she saw Pattinson snatch £1,221 cash. As he left, Pattinson tried to wipe away handprints, telling her not to call anyone and lock the door.
Pattinson was identified after CCTV footage was viewed. He was wearing the same distinctive jacket he had on while trying to burgle the Opera Bingo outlet, also on Denton Street, 30 minutes before he entered the bookies.
Staff at the bingo hall — where he leaned over a counter and rummaged through a drawer — remembered him visiting days earlier in a failed bid to open an account before asking for a taxi in his own name.
In an impact statement, the Coral worker described being scared for her life. “I honestly froze in the moment as the fear came over me,” she stated. “I felt if I refused him money he would attack me and do me serious harm.”
Five days after his release from a prison sentence, on April 17 this year, heavily-convicted Pattinson committed more crimes. Along with accomplice Dale Graham, 38, he stole a moped.
Hours later, Pattinson stole products from Currock Road’s Co-op and threatened a shop worker while brandishing a screwdriver when challenged. In his impact statement, the worker asked Pattinson directly: “I hope you understand the effect this crime has had on me.”
Pattinson, of Baird Road, Carlisle, admitted robbery, burglary, affray and several thefts, and was jailed for a total of 50 months.
Of the robbery victim, Judge Nicholas Barker told him: “In her mind she thought you were armed with a knife. This is a serious matter. She was clearly scared of what you might do.”
Graham, of no fixed address, received a six-month jail term for four thefts and a common assault.
