Duo jailed after armed robbery involving machete in Leighton Buzzard
It happened in September 2019
Two men have been jailed for more than a decade in total, after pleading guilty to an armed robbery in Leighton Buzzard in September 2019.
Adam Pennington, aged 23, of Doggett Street, Leighton Buzzard, and Karl Partridge, aged 24, of Dominica Grove in Milton Keynes, were sentenced for robbery and weapons offences.
The pair entered the convenience store in Birds Hill in Heath and Reach at around 6.50pm on 23 September, 2019, brandishing a machete and an extendable baton and threatened the staff, demanding money.
They then forced employees to open the tills, grabbed the till trays full of banknotes, and escaped in a grey Peugeot.
The vehicle was found around 40 minutes after the incident.
According to Bedfordshire Police, when Partridge and Pennington spotted the police vehicle, they attempted to speed off and run a red traffic light, but they crashed the car as a result.
They were identified when officers reviewed CCTV and saw the pair wearing distinctive clothing and jewellery.
When arrested, Partridge was wearing the same clothing and had a packet of gum on him which he was seen stealing from the store.
Pennington was wearing a different set of clothes than in the CCTV, but those clothes were later recovered from the boot of the car.
Adam Pennington pleaded guilty to robbery, possession of an offensive weapon and driving offences, and will spend seven years and three months in prison.
While Karl Partridge pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of an offensive weapon, and has been sentenced to three years and one-month imprisonment.
Investigation Officer Gillian Cook-Smith, who investigated, said:
"Pennington and Partridge raided the shop and terrorised the unsuspecting staff members.
"They brandished their weapons menacingly; hitting them on the counter and waving them towards the employees.
"When they were located by police officers, they attempted to drive off at speed, putting themselves, the officers and members of the public in danger as they crashed their car into a wall.
"This type of violent behaviour won’t be tolerated and we are satisfied that justice has been done.
"They will now spend a considerable time in jail paying for their actions that September evening."