Jail for men who tried to carry out knife point robbery at Yaxley shop

TOn the evening of 16 January 2020, a lone worker was in the Premier shop in Main Street when Ray Davis, 24, entered the store and hit the floor with a metal pole.

Isaiah Duncan, 25, then followed, armed with a knife, and shouted “empty the till or I will stab you, empty the till” while trying to get in the security door which separates the till area from the public.

The victim, who is in his 30s, managed to keep the door shut and threw a charity collection tin at Duncan in an attempt to deter him from continuing his demands, however he picked it up and threw it back at the victim.

At this point, Davis ran from the store, prompting the victim to chase Duncan and a third man – 23-year-old Joshua Poulter – out of the shop.

Forensic officers recovered a fingerprint from the charity tin which identified Duncan, who also uses the surname Khan.

Investigations by detectives led to Davis and Poulter, and the trio were arrested on 27 January.

All three were charged with attempted robbery, which they admitted in court. Duncan also admitted being in possession of a knife in a public place, while Davis will have a charge of being in possession of an offensive weapon – a metal pole – lie on file.

They appeared at Peterborough Crown Court on Friday (25 March) where Davis, of Salix Road, Hampton Hargate, was jailed for three years; Duncan, of no fixed address, was jailed for two years and ten months; and Poulter, of Fairhaven, Hampton Gardens, was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Detective Sergeant Tom Hunt, who investigated, said: “Thankfully no one was hurt during this incident, but I have no doubt this was a frightening experience for the victim, as well as the local community in Yaxley.

“Through many hours of hard work, we were able to identify the three men, place them at the scene and bring them to justice.”