Thug stole ?1300 from Co-Op store and left staff ‘feeling helpless’

A robber stole £1,300 worth of goods from a single Essex store and threatened staff who were left feeling "helpless", with one still unable to return to work. Billy Bugby, 32, of Longbridge Road, Barking, admitted the robbery of the Co-Op store in Stanford-le-Hope, Thurrock on April 29 this year.

Bugby and accomplice Daniel Dash, 30, entered the store shortly after 9.30pm, before proceeding to access the area behind the tills. He pulled open a drawer and removed bottles of alcohol and cigarettes, also taking scratch cards from the till area.

The goods were stashed in a bag before the pair left the shop. Witnesses reported seeing a knife and said threats were made towards staff. CCTV footage of them was obtained and just over a week later Bugby was spotted by an officer on patrol on Barking on May 7.

He was arrested and charged with robbery and at Basildon Crown Court on Tuesday (August 8), he was sentenced to two years in jail. Dash, of no fixed address, was arrested on 5 May and is due to be sentenced on Thursday 2 November.

One Co-op worker who was a victim of Bugby said: “People who work in shops are often subject to threats or fear for our safety when we are just doing our jobs. I am pleased one of the people responsible for this robbery has been caught and sentenced. I would like to thank the officers who investigated this incident and kept me updated throughout a difficult process.”

DS Claire Morton, of Grays CID, said: “This robbery understandably left a lasting impact on the members of staff who were threatened and made to feel helpless by Bugby’s actions. No one should be made to feel unsafe while simply going about their business at their place of work.

“Where incidents of this nature are reported to us, we will work tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice. We are all too aware of not just the financial impact of the theft from businesses, but also of the emotional and psychological trauma caused by crimes of this nature.”

References

1. ^{^} All the Essex Wilko stores at risk of closure as chain collapses into administration (www.essexlive.news)