A man who assaulted shop staff during a robbery in Newport has been jailed.
Daniel Taylor, 30, has been sentenced to 20 months in prison following a violent robbery at a Central Convenience store on the High Street in Newport.
The incident occurred on 21 March at approximately 2pm. Taylor initially entered the store to inquire about alcohol but left shortly after. He returned 10 minutes later, ostensibly to buy sweets. As a staff member opened the till, Taylor lunged over the counter, seizing cash while yelling at the cashier. The situation escalated when Taylor punched the cashier in the face.
An off-duty employee who was present in the store attempted to intervene but was met with a barrage of punches and kicks from Taylor. After the altercation, Taylor fled with the stolen cash but inadvertently left behind his mobile phone.
He ran to a nearby hotel to change his clothes but was soon spotted by officers in the town. He was arrested while hiding in a skip behind Halfords. During his arrest, Taylor confessed to the robbery and was found with £20 on his person.
Appearing at the Isle of Wight Crown Court on 29 April, Taylor, of Lowtherville Road in Ventnor, admitted to two counts of robbery. He was sentenced on 31 May to 20 months in prison.
DC Lou Daniels said: “Officers on the Isle of Wight work hard to target retail criminals and work with businesses to keep them safer.
“Much of this involves targeting habitual shoplifters and those who are disorderly and abusive to retail staff. On the more serious end of the scale, we have offenders like Taylor who use physical violence against shop workers in order to make financial gain.
“This behaviour will never be tolerated. I hope the local resident and business communities on the Island can be reassured that police swiftly responded and arrested Taylor after this incident, and he is now behind bars.”
