A drunken man who tried to rob a Penrith shop manager in daylight after pursuing him from his place of work has been jailed for almost two years.
The victim, boss of a town centre store, locked up the premises at around 4.30pm on July 24 and noticed two men hanging around outside. As he walked through an alley towards his car — carrying a laptop bag which contained only paperwork — he saw the same two men, one of whom said “sorry mate” while putting his arms around him.
That man was 42-year-old Neil Barry Bailey, who repeatedly prevented the manager from driving away after he had got into his car. As the driver wound a window down slightly, Bailey demanded: “The bag. Give me the bag or I’m going to put the window in.” He then punched the glass, leaving a mark.
Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson told Carlisle Crown Court: “This was not a quick bag-snatch. This was a determined effort to approach and rob.”
The man called police and was able to drive away but later detailed the profound effect in the aftermath; of feeling more anxious, aware and vulnerable after the incident, and changing behaviour patterns.
“It is shocking that something of this nature could occur in broad daylight,” said the victim, who had also alerted Penrith’s Shopwatch scheme in the aftermath. “He hates to think that local people should be fearful when going about their daily business,” explained Mr Rogerson.
When police approached Bailey, he sprayed cola at them, damaged the light of a patrol vehicle and goaded a dog to the point that it bit him.
He admitted attempted robbery, resisting police and criminal damage in court today.
Bailey had 143 past offences. He had been locked up in the past for a drugs supply crime and affray, and been drinking heavily before the robbery bid, the court heard.
Jailing Bailey, of Rowcliffe Lane, Penrith, for 22 months, Judge Nicholas Barker said to him of the victim: “It was no doubt a distressing and frightening experience, knowing the persistence you demonstrated from the shop, to the alleyway, to the car.”
