Three teenage terrors taken off the streets
ROSS WOOD: The masked robber
A MASKED robber aged only 16 held up two Plymouth corner shops at knifepoint, terrifying the lone female assistants, the city’s crown court heard.
But Ross Derek Wood was caught after he left his knife behind, police matched his DNA and experts were able to prove that clothes found at his home matched those worn during the raids and captured on colour CCTV.
David Gittins, prosecuting, said Wood entered Freeman’s Bakery at West Park at around 10.10am on October 28 last year.
His face was hidden by a hooded top worn backwards and he carried a black-handled kitchen knife.
He ordered the 34-year-old shop assistant to open the till, took £55 to £65 out of it and threatened her.
The second robbery came three weeks later on November 18 at the Poets’ Corner convenience store in Manadon, where a 40-year-old woman was working alone around 9am.
Wood entered with his hood pulled up and a black stocking covering his face, carrying a carving knife.
The woman pleaded with him not to hurt her, and tried but failed to open the till.
She then pressed a panic button and ran into a store-room, accidentally locking herself in.
Wood panicked and fled, leaving the knife behind at the scene.
Police were able to match Wood’s DNA on the knife, but he gave three ‘No comment’ interviews until experts were able to prove clothes found at his home were identical to those worn by the robber on the CCTV footage. Wood, of Eastbury Avenue, Honicknowle, then pleaded guilty to one robbery and one attempted robbery.
The first woman said: “The incident has left me anxious, panicky and very jumpy, and I have started counselling, but I won’t let it stop me doing my job.”
The second woman told police that the incident had left her suffering from nausea and headaches, and she kept thinking about how she could have been stabbed.
Mr Gittins said the crimes had been aggravated by the fact that Wood had planned them, worn a disguise and targeted vulnerable victims – women working alone.
Nick Lewin, for Wood, said he felt disgusted, ashamed and remorseful at what he had done.
His family had approved of him smoking cannabis because it calmed him down, but he had committed the raids while under pressure from dealers to repay drug debts, he said.
Wood had left school with no qualifications, but had taken several GCSEs while in custody and was aiming for an apprenticeship on release.
The judge, Recorder Paul Dunkels QC, told Wood, now 17, “You represented a terrifying spectre with your face covered by a black stocking and holding a large knife.
“Their ordeals left your victims stressed and shocked. You should put yourself in the shoes of your victim.”
He sentenced Wood to an 18-month detention and training order.
DC Darren Evans of Crownhill CID thanked The Herald for its help with the case and said the investigation was aided by skilled forensic work and high-quality CCTV images from the shops.
DANIEL SNELL: The school burglar
A HOMELESS Plymouth teenager who committed £28,000-worth of burglaries in an 18-month spree has been sent to a young offenders’ institution.
Daniel Snell, 18, was convicted of breaking into two schools, in Plymouth and Totnes: but when arrested, having left behind crucial clues, he told police he wanted to wipe the slate clean and confess to 14 other crimes.
David Gittins, prosecuting, told Plymouth Crown Court that overnight on April 3-4 a window was smashed at Stoke Damerel School and a £185 computer tower stolen.
Blood matching Snell’s DNA was found on wires detached from the computer, and shoe-prints found at the scene matched his shoes.
On May 2, a caretaker at King Edward VI School in Totnes saw two men run off after trying door handles. When teachers returned on May 4, they found doors had been kicked in, lockers opened and a laptop and a camera were missing.
Shoe-prints matching Snell’s and a screwdriver with a partial match to his DNA were found at the scene – and staff at the Ship Hostel in Stonehouse, where Snell was staying, told police he had tried to sell a digital camera.
Snell was arrested and gave ‘No comment’ interviews, but later offered to come to Plymouth to show police where he had committed 14 previous break-ins. The goods stolen amounted to £17,315, with nearly £10,000-worth of damage being caused in breaking in.
Mr Gittins said that the grand total, with the two latest burglaries, was almost £18,000 plus the £10,000 damage.
Jo Martin, for Snell, said he was an enigma – an educated and articulate young man who was eager to please, but with a selfish and egotistical attitude to life.
She said his crimes were a mixture of opportunistic thefts and planned raids, driven by alcohol.
He had told his probation officer: “I want to stop this now and get rid of my past. If I put all the effort into getting a job that I put into burgling, I should do very well.”
Recorder Paul Dunkels QC told Snell he must change or face a future of ever- increasing jail sentences. He sent Snell to a young offenders’ institution for 12 months.
JAY KINGCOMBE: The teenaged terror
A 17-YEAR-OLD boy who has terrorised a Plymouth community has been put behind bars for eight months by Plymouth Youth Court.
Jay Kingcombe admitted seven offences of assault and public order charges.
The court heard that Kingcombe, of Collin Close, St Budeaux, punched and kicked a 15-year-old boy on the ground with another man.
Even his mother Cindy told the court that what he had done was ‘disgusting’, but she added: “He’s not a real bad lad.”
Kingcombe appeared in court less than a week after having been given a tough five-year anti-social behaviour order to rein in his behaviour.
Magistrates heard then that he was the ringleader of a gang of troublemakers in St Budeaux.
The youth court heard that his latest offences had put him in breach of the interim anti-social behaviour order imposed in April. Magistrates also took the unusual step of allowing Kingcombe to be named publicly after an application by The Herald.
Presiding magistrate Nadine Fletcher said: “We believe that Jay’s behaviour is persistent, serious and impacts on the local community.
“Members of the community will feel more comfortable knowing what has happened to Jay.” He was given an eight-month detention and training order.
Nigel Lyons, for Kingcombe, said the offences were the result of ‘bravado’ while in a group of youths.
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