Armed robber who threatened cashier at Merthyr bookies jailed
46-year-old Anton Jones has been put behind bars for 11 and a half years following the incident back in April this year
Last updated 30th Oct 2023
An armed robber from Merthyr has been put behind bars for 11 and a half years following an incident at a betting shop in the town centre.
In April, 46 year old Anton Jones, whose face was hidden by a balaclava, demanded money from staff at the Betfred store, whilst hiding an 8-inch bread knife in his sleeve.
Police add he deliberately didn’t speak whilst demanding money from the staff as he was a regular customer in the shop, and the staff on duty would have readily recognised his voice.
After an extensive search using CCTV, Jones’ route to and from scene was established by officers, and soon, they found the clothing worn by Jones concealed in the undergrowth on the riverbank of the River Taff.
This was recovered and the items were forensically examined showing Jones’ DNA was on the clothing.
He stole around £600 - with South Wales Police calling him a 'prolific' offender.
Detective Constable Paul Bishop said: “Jones is a prolific offender, with four convictions for knife point robberies in the past. This was team effort to bring a dangerous and un-phased offender to justice, who had no choice but to plead in light of the weight of evidence against him.”