Bank robber who posed as extremist jailed

A bank robber who claimed to be a member of ISIS when threatening staff in Cheadle has been jailed alongside his partner.

Michael Thorpe (13/06/1978) and Rochelle Holman (13/22/1986) were sentenced at Manchester Crown Court earlier today (Monday 9 April 2018) after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery.

Thorpe was jailed for 19 years and Holman for seven and a half years.

The activities of the pair first came to the attention of police on 13th July 2017 when Thorpe entered the Royal Bank of Scotland Cheadle Village wearing a motorcycle helmet and passed a note to the cashier claiming that he was a member of ISIS and carrying a bomb.

The note demanded that the member of staff make no sudden movements before handing over cash. Fearing for their life, the cashier did as ordered before Thorpe left the bank on a bicycle and headed round the corner to meet Holman, who was waiting for him in a car.

The pair then had their getaway car scrapped later that day and used their ill-gotten gains from the bank robbery to buy a new car and a holiday to Gran Canaria.

Over the following months, the pair would plan and execute robberies using the same tactic at financial institutions in Sale, Romiley, Baguley and Bramhall.

Detective Sergeant Richard Castley of GMP’s Serious Organised Crime Group said:

“Michael Thorpe and Rochelle Holman used devious tactics to strike fear into each member of staff they encountered during their attempts to make a quick bit of cash.

“Based on the nature of the incidents and the damning evidence we found during our search of their home address, it is clear that they planned each robbery in some detail before executing their strategy. This was not some amateur operation.

“Although Thorpe was the one who entered the bank and made the threats, Holman played a key part in planning the robberies and attended each one with her accomplice lover, waiting for him to return with the spoils of their latest crime.

“They are now where they belong, behind bars and about to spend the coming years with plenty of time to consider whether it was all worth it.”