A man who robbed a South Cumbria village post office while armed with a hammer has been warned he faces an inevitable prison sentence.
Paul Czernozekow, 42, pleaded guilty to three offences when he appeared in front of a judge at Carlisle Crown Court this morning.
Czernozekow admitted robbing a man of cash on May 26 this year.
Attending the court hearing remotely, over a video link from custody, he also admitted having an offensive weapon — a hammer — in public at Haverigg Post Office without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.
In addition, he pleaded guilty to the burglary of a Tesco store, at Lancaster Road in Millom, having entered as a trespasser, and the theft of an electronic tablet. This offence occurred 17 days later, on June 12.
The court heard Czernozekow, of King Street, Millom, had previously admitted separate crimes committed in the Derby area.
These were, said prosecutor, Tim Evans, “less serious” than those in Cumbria. It was proposed those matters should be dealt with at Carlisle Crown Court when the defendant is ultimately sentenced for the robbery, hammer and burglary offences.
Judge Nicholas Barker adjourned the case and requested the preparation of a probation service pre-sentence report addressing the question of dangerousness.
This will assess whether Czernozekow poses a significant risk to members of the public of causing serious harm by the commission by him of further specified offences.
Czernozekow is due to be sentenced at the crown court on November 25, and will remain in custody in the meantime.
Judge Barker told him: “You have pleaded guilty to serious matters. You know they are serious. You know they will result in an inevitable custodial sentence.”
