Two men who plotted to stage a fake robbery at a Penrith petrol station have been spared immediate prison.
CCTV footage from the incident at the Ullswater Road filling station on September 6 2021, showed James Conway, now aged 28, bursting into the store at 8.30pm.
Wearing dark clothing and with his face masked, Conway shoved aside a customer and produced a knife while demanding that a lone female store assistant empty the till.
Money was handed over by the woman and Conway left the premises before police began a probe which included viewing the key camera footage.
Officers recognised Conway’s physical features and distinctive nose. He was arrested at a Penrith flat where police then found significant evidence. This included items of correspondence in the name of Colin Stalgis, now aged 30, and medication belonging to the female shop worker.
It emerged that partner-in-crime Stalgis was the shop customer pushed by Conway, and also that Stalgis had anonymously reported the apparent robbery.
CCTV footage, said prosecutor Tim Evans, was worth watching as it showed a lack of concern by Stalgis, who carries on drinking and eating crisps while the robbery occurs.
“It looks at first like an armed robbery of a petrol station,” said Mr Evans, who described use of a knife, demands for money, a worker in the petrol station having to hand over money to men in disguise.
“What prevents it being that is the absence of the handing over of money as a result of violence or fear of violence because the female behind the counter knew who the men were and that they would not do her harm.”
She had been present with Conway and her boyfriend Stalgis when a plot was hatched to rob the business. The woman also told police she had received a call from Conway, who said Stalgis would be attending as the robbery took place “as he knew I would be scared”.
Mr Evans also said: “She describes herself as not having much say in it (the plan) and not entirely being sure whether it would happen until he came through the door.”
An item of Pandora jewellery bought hours after the fake robbery, along with £320 cash, was seized when the woman was arrested. She faced no criminal charge.
Conway, now of Warwick Square, Carlisle, and Stalgis, of Millgate, Ackworth, near Pontefract, were prosecuted and both admitted a charge of conspiracy to steal.
Sentencing Conway and Stalgis today, Judge Michael Fanning said he was mindful of the harmful effect their crime would have on the business, in the community and on those who worked in similar places.
But Judge Fanning also took into account an inordinate delay in bringing their case to court for which he had been given no explanation.
He observed that Conway and Stalgis both now had young children and jobs. “Your lives have moved on. You have demonstrated an ability to be rehabilitated,” the judge concluded.
Conway and Stalgis had prison sentences of 18 months and 16 months, respectively, suspended for 18 months and two years. They must also complete a building choices course and rehabilitation work with probation service staff.
