Sheffield robber is jailed after shop assistant was attacked during a masked-gang raid

By Jon Cooper
Published 14th Apr 2023, 16:56 BST
Updated 14th Apr 2023, 16:56 BST
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A remorseful robber has been put behind bars after an elderly shop assistant was punched and kicked during a masked raid by a gang at a store.

Sheffield Crown Court heard on April 14 how Grant Furniss, aged 31, of Oakland Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield, was part of a four-strong masked-gang that raided a Londis store, at Crookes, Sheffield, in the early hours and stole cigarettes and scratch cards valued at £1,320.

Austin Newman, prosecuting, said a 64-year-old shop assistant had been dealing with newspaper deliveries at about 5am when four masked individuals burst into the shop and as he tried to stop the raid he was punched and kicked by one of the gang.

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One male confronted the shop assistant as the other three robbers went around the store stealing cigarettes and scratch cards, according to Mr Newman, but as the shop assistant tried to stop them he was attacked.

Pictured is Grant Furniss, aged 31, of Oakland Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield, who was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to 40 months of custody after he pleaded guilty to committing a robbery with three others at a Londis store, at Crookes, Sheffield, where tobacco and scratch cards were stolen valued at £1,320.Pictured is Grant Furniss, aged 31, of Oakland Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield, who was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to 40 months of custody after he pleaded guilty to committing a robbery with three others at a Londis store, at Crookes, Sheffield, where tobacco and scratch cards were stolen valued at £1,320.
Pictured is Grant Furniss, aged 31, of Oakland Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield, who was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to 40 months of custody after he pleaded guilty to committing a robbery with three others at a Londis store, at Crookes, Sheffield, where tobacco and scratch cards were stolen valued at £1,320.

Mr Newman said: “He was grabbed and grotesquely punched in the face by the male and kicked in the legs for good measure. The robbers left the scene and made off with the items. A stock check revealed a total loss in terms of tobacco and scratch cards of £1,320 and odd pence.”

Furniss was identified from CCTV from other shops which showed him unmasked shortly before the robbery, according to Mr Newman, and packets of cigarettes from the robbery were found at his home.

The shop assistant said he has lost his confidence and feels like he is no longer the same person and he has had trouble sleeping and has been left feeling scared and vulnerable.

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Furniss, who has previous convictions, pleaded guilty to the robbery which happened on January 31.

Francis Edusei, defending, said: “He recognises his behaviour and that of his co-defendants, or the people he was with, was exceptional, particularly in the striking of the elderly gentleman. Mr Furniss recognises his behaviour was poor and he said to me that he wished to apologise.”

Furniss has been struggling with his mental health, according to Mr Edusei, and he has been diagnosed with depression following his mother’s ill health and the loss of his grandmother.

The judge – Recorder Caroline Sellars - acknowledged Furniss has expressed genuine remorse before she sentenced him to 40 months of custody.