Portsmouth robber jailed for knifepoint raid after stealing £13 washing detergent from Spar in Copnor

Brett Cooke, 41, was locked up for three years and four months following his ambush on the Spar store in Copnor Road on March 14.

Cooke, who was high on Spice during the raid, was spotted stealing by the shop supervisor who went up behind the assailant before a scuffle broke out.

Prosecutor Martyn Booth told Portsmouth Crown Court: ‘The employee regarded the defendant was stealing things and went up behind him and grabbed the carrier bag from out of his hands which led to a slight struggle.

‘Mr Cooke then went to get beers from a display unit before he was stopped. He turned round and grabbed the collar of the employee causing the shirt to rip.’

Cooke was then frogmarched out of the Copnor shop while still holding a bag which had detergent stolen from the shop inside. It was worth £12.97.

The supervisor called police before realising Cooke had sneaked back in the Spar before going behind the till area - prompting the member of staff to rush over in a bid to stop the robbery.

‘Mr Cooke was angry and shouting “open the till”. While he was holding onto the supervisor’s hand he pulled a knife with a 6in blade out of his coat pocket,’ Mr Booth said.

‘The supervisor pulled his arm free and pressed the alarm. The defendant ran out of the shop down the road.’

Cooke left the washing detergent behind when escaping.

After checking CCTV of the attack, police were able to identify Cooke - a man who has been before the courts on 19 previous occasions.

Cooke was arrested the next day and ‘broadly agreed’ with the account of events put to him - apart from denying he had a knife, Mr Booth said.

Cooke told officers: ‘I was off my nut on Spice.’

Mr Booth said the attempted robbery had ‘significantly impacted’ the supervisor. ‘He now has a constant feeling of worry and has panic attacks and struggles to breathe,’ he said.

‘He wakes up in the night in a panic and has not been able to get to a doctor during the pandemic.’

The supervisor, in a statement read out to court, said: ‘I do not expect to be put in fear of my life during my work.’

Cooke, of no fixed address, admitted charges of attempted robbery, possessing a bladed article, theft and assault by beating. The offences meant Cooke had breached a community order given to him four months earlier.

Judge David Melville QC acknowledged the impact of Cooke’s ‘troublesome life’ on his offending before sending him to jail.

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