TWO teenagers who took part in a terrifying robbery in which a Coventry student was threatened with a machete which was pushed against his stomach have been jailed.
Joe Delaney and a 17-year-old had both pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to robbery and possessing bladed articles during the incident in March.
Delaney (18) of Silverton Road, Foleshill, Coventry, and the 17-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, were both sentenced to detention for 32 months.
Prosecutor Ben Close said that on March 27 a Coventry University student and his girlfriend were going through a cut-through leading to Gulson Road when they had to walk past a group of young men on a bench.
The group, with their faces covered, all got up and ran towards them, so he pushed his girlfriend away so she was able to run off.
He was then confronted by one of the group who was brandishing a machete, and the tip was pushed against his stomach as he was told: “Give me all you’ve got.”
He emptied his pockets and held out his phone and his wallet which were taken, and the group then ran off.
The student went to his girlfriend, and after calling the police they used her phone to track the location of his phone.
That information was passed to the police who headed to the Gosford Green area where they carried out a search with the assistance of a police dog.
When they spotted the two defendants and two others, the officers shouted that they had a dog and to get down on the ground – but instead the four split up and ran off.
The police dog gave chase and bit Delaney’s ankle, and when he was then arrested and searched he was found to have a kitchen knife on him and a black face mask round his neck.
In his rucksack the officers found four small bags of cannabis and the student’s ID card.
Meanwhile the 17-year-old ran straight into other officers who were approaching from a different direction, and when he was searched he was found to have what was described as a small Samurai sword with a 12-inch blade in his trousers.
Rupert Jones, for Delaney, said: “He was not the main offender, he was adding to the numbers by his presence. This offence was committed not at his instigation, but following the crowd.”
Ian Speed, for the 17-year-old, said: “This is the first time he’s been before the courts in relation to any matter. He’s been in custody since the 29th of March and, I’m pleased to say, he has hated it. It has had a great effect on him.”
Recorder Christopher Tickle observed that the knife the teenager was carrying was ‘quite an alarming thing,’ and Mr Speed explained: “He says the reason he found it necessary to carry it is that he himself was the victim of a knife crime.”
Arguing for the boy to be given a community sentence, Mr Speed added: “If he was to go into custody, I suggest he’s the sort of person who would be lured by those who are more criminally adept.
“If Your Honour decides it has to be custody, it’s going to ruin everything for this 17-year-old, and would have an adverse effect on the rest of his life.”
But Recorder Tickle told the two teenagers: “Yes, imprisonment is going to impact on both of you, but in each case I find there is no alternative to a custodial sentence.
“He and his girlfriend were walking through an area near Gulson Road, and as they walked through, the group of you got up. Your faces were covered, and he was frightened enough to shoo his girlfriend away.
“The person in the front had a machete and it is pushed against his neck. Not you or you, but don’t tell me you don’t know what’s going on.
“Each of you was carrying a weapon, and each of you was part and parcel of this.”
