An organised gang who threatened staff with a sawn-off shotgun and hit shops in Irlam and Eccles as part of a cross-country crime spree have been jailed for a total of 35 years.
Sanket News on Liverpool Road in Irlam was raided by Jake Prempeh, Kayode Freeman and Omar Berryman on 14 June last year.
The owner, Mrs Ansotti, was grabbed round the throat and a necklace ripped from her neck when the three stormed the newsagents.
They threatened the owner with a gun if she didn’t hand over cash from the till and escaped on foot in the direction of Cadishead.
Two days later the gang hit Elite Phones and Computers on Liverpool Road in Eccles.
Terrified staff again had a gun aimed at their heads while one of the gang members was heard to say “Shoot him!”
Prempeh, 25, Freeman, 23, 26-year-old Berryman and their associate Romahn Richards, 24, carried out armed raids on eight bookmakers and newsagents across Manchester, Salford and Derbyshire in a two-month spree in May and June 2014.
They were caught after committing an aggravated burglary in the Northamptonshire area two days after the Eccles armed robbery.
The gang had followed a couple home after they had been to a local casino and forced their way inside, locking the couple in a toilet while they ransacked the house.
After fleeing in a black Nissan Almera, police in Northampton pursued them through the city centre and eventually stopped the car, with Richards, Prempeh and Freeman inside. Officers also seized a Dunlop bag with the single-barrelled sawn-off shotgun inside.
Officers also seized numerous pieces of clothing including a black and white balaclava, orange and grey builders gloves, a grey hooded top and matching tracksuit bottoms, a blue Ralph Lauren hooded top and silver rimmed aviator style sunglasses.
Not only did these items have partial DNA matches for Richards, Prempeh and Freeman, but they also matched the clothing worn during previous robberies in Manchester and Derbyshire between May and June.
All four were sentenced today, Tuesday 21 July 2015, at Manchester Crown Court, Crown Square.
Omar Berryman and Kayode Freeman
Berryman pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery and two counts of having a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence and was sentenced to six years and four months in prison.
Prempeh pleaded guilty to 11 counts of robbery, eight counts of having a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence, one count of possession of a firearm and one count of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply and was sentenced to 15 years and seven months in prison.
Freeman pleaded guilty to five counts of robbery, three counts of having a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence and was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison.
Richards pleaded guilty to eight counts of robbery, six counts of having a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence and one count of dangerous driving and was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison.
Romahn Richards and Jake Prempeh
Detective Constable Jennifer Wylde, from Greater Manchester Police’s Serious Crime Division, said: “Each of these four men played their part in terrifying robberies that left a number of the victims traumatised. So much so that many of them have either been unable to return to their place of work or it has cast such a shadow over their lives that it still causes them distress to this day.
“That is the effect criminals can have on innocent members of the public, particularly when a dangerous organised crime group with access to sawn-off shotguns are prepared to point them in people’s faces just to intimidate them.
“Thanks to our colleagues in Northamptonshire Police, we were able to secure a litany of evidence against these men which has ultimately led to their convictions today. What was seized from that car amounted to a robber’s kit, replete with a weapon, balaclavas and gloves.
“Given the sheer volume of offences this gang committed over such a short period of time, I have no doubt they’d still be out there today threatening their victims at gunpoint were it not for the fact they were caught, and I hope people can sleep a little easier knowing they are now behind bars.
“Anyone who works in a shop, and anyone who walks into a shop, should never be confronted with such violence and it is unthinkable for the majority of us to ever face such a situation. I therefore hope shops and businesses across Manchester look at this case and see that Greater Manchester Police will do everything we can to bring such criminals to justice and send them to prison for a very long time.”
