Two people armed with a hammer and disguised with motorcycle helmets strolled into H&T Pawnbrokers in Sutton and immediately went behind the counter.
As two female staff members fled to a back office the robbers forced open a cabinet before helping themselves to watches, bracelets and necklaces.
Just moments before on the afternoon of 18 July 2018 the pair had ridden an unlicenced motorbike along a pedestrianised street and parked it directly outside the Idewells shopping centre.
After leaving the shop both the offenders ran back towards the bike and fled form the scene – but not before assaulting a community protection officer who had bravely tried to intervene.
Nathan Anthony, now aged 32, was arrested around two months later and initially denying all knowledge of the incident.
Detectives were unable to prove conclusively who the people on the bikes were but they were able to link Anthony to the crime after a trace of his DNA was found on a hammer left at the scene.
The bike used in the offence was also tracked on CCTV as it made its way towards Kirkby– only disappearing from view as it passed Anthony’s then address in Nottingham Road.
Forensic examination of Anthony’s mobile phone also unearthed a text message relating to the planning of the raid. Officers also located a shopping receipt in a bag at the scene of the crime that further line Anthony to the scene.
Faced with the evidence against him Anthony pleaded guilty to an offence of assisting an offender in a robbery.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court today Anthony, of Flaxton Way, Top Valley, Nottingham, was jailed for four years – three years for the assisting in the robbery and an additional year for commissioning an offence during the period of an existing suspended prison sentence.
He was also handed concurrent prison sentences totalling a further 22 months for other offences including driving whilst disqualified, breach of bail, and dangerous driving. He was also disqualified from driving for two years and will be subject to a curfew order for a period of 198 days when he is released from prison.
Detective Sergeant Nick Wood, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was a complex investigation that enabled us to gather significant evidence against Anthony.
"Although we were not able to prove that he was definitely at the scene, we were able to conclusively link him to the offence through his DNA and from many hours of forensic CCTV investigation.
“We were able to show that he had assisted in the commission of the offence and, as he has just found out to his cost, the penalty for this can be every bit as serious as if we’d been able to place him at the scene.
“Nottinghamshire Police simply won’t tolerate this kind of thuggery and – as this case shows – will go to very great lengths to bring offenders to justice.”
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