Pub robber forced victim to open safe and tied him up in terrifying raid

A robber who forced a man in a North Wales pub to open a safe and tied him up was caught after his DNA was found on cables ties. Warren Jennings went on to rob another man in a similar raid the following month and is already serving eight years and four months for that offence. On Tuesday (May 2), a judge condemned the 36-year-old’s “robbing ways” and added two and a half years in jail to that sentence.

The court heard that Jennings, of no fixed address, had struck at The Railway pub in Denbigh[1] in September 2021 with three accomplices who are still at large. The later robbery in October that year[2] was in Flintshire[3]. Prosecutor Elen Owen said that victim Elfyn Jones had been helping the landlady close The Railway pub for the evening on September 22, 2021.

Just after midnight, they heard someone trying to open the back door. The landlady went outside and saw the defendant running down an alleyway. Mr Jones, who lived in the flat above the pub, later went to bed.

But, in the early hours of the morning, the defendant and three others came into his bedroom, the court heard. Ms Owen said he was forced to go downstairs and open the safe. His wrists and legs were tied with black and yellow cables.

The gang stole cash and items including customers’ donations and electric guitars which were of sentimental value. The haul was valued at almost GBP4,000. Ms Owen said Mr Jones managed to free himself and raise the alarm.

Police investigated and linked Jennings to the crime scene after his DNA was found on the cable ties. Mr Jones, who has been a landlord himself for 26 years, was traumatised by the robbery, the court heard. He struggled to sleep, is wary of unfamiliar customers, and now tries to do afternoon not evening shifts.

Ms Owen said: “He has lived in Denbigh his whole life and never had any issues. But now he feels he cannot go out at night because he no longer feels safe and secure. “He says: ‘I don’t understand why these people targeted me.

It completely turned my life upside down and I fear I will never be back to normal.'” Duncan Bould, defending, said his client had “lost the plot” and committed two very serious offences. But they don’t reflect his “true character”, he claimed.

The judge His Honour Timothy Petts told Jennings he had committed one violent robbery (in Flintshire) then continued his “robbing ways” with another one in Denbigh.

He had pleaded guilty to the Denbigh robbery and the two and a half year sentence would be served consecutively to the eight years and four months term he is currently serving at HMP Berwyn.

References

1. ^ Denbigh (www.dailypost.co.uk)
2. ^ later robbery in October that year (www.dailypost.co.uk)
3. ^ Flintshire (www.dailypost.co.uk)
4. ^ The best way to spend a day in the popular coastal town of (www.dailypost.co.uk)
5. ^ Porthmadog (www.dailypost.co.uk)