Leeds man threatened staff with a knife while stealing baby milk, washing tablets and coats from B&M, Matalan, Tesco and Asda

Joshua Felton, 24, of Gipton Gate West in Harehills, was sentenced to six years in prison at Leeds Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday) for the robberies in stores across Leeds over four days last year while under the influence of crack cocaine and spice. Staff were threatened with a knife in front of onlookers, including children, before Felton walked out of the stores with baby milk, chocolate, laundry tablets and coats.

Prosecuting, Bashir Ahmed said that Felton stole chocolate from a Tesco store on October 30 before going into a B&M store the day after and stealing £61 worth of laundry tablets. Two female staff members locked the door and approached Felton, but let him out when he produced a knife.

A victim impact statement was provided by one of the staff members, saying she had regular “flashbacks”. She said: “I had just become a grandmother and in the blink of an eye all that could have changed. He could have stabbed me and killed me. And all just for a fix.”

After the robbery at B&M Felton stole £130 worth of coats from Matalan on Selby Road. He went into the same Matalan the following day – November 1 – and was seen by staff tucking another coat under his arm. As he walked out he threatened a member of staff with a knife again. Mr Ahmed said: “She couldn’t believe what was happening and felt the defendant would have used the knife on her if she had not moved out of the way.”

Later that day Felton stole £120 worth of baby milk from Asda in Harehills, threatening a security guard with a knife on his way out.

On November 2 Felton tried to steal from Matalan for a third time and was recognised by staff, who called the police. Felton realised that he was being watched by staff and brandished the knife “as a threat” while staring at them by the entrance.

Felton was arrested and pleaded guilty to the robberies, saying he was on crack cocaine and spice at the time. He said he sold the stolen items, which totalled £1,518.94.

Representing Felton, Lucy Brown said Felton’s young age, immaturity and drug addiction had led to him “struggling to address things through the right channels”.

Felton pleaded guilty to six counts of robbery and also requested that a further five robberies and 13 charges of theft be taken into account. Judge Ray Singh sentenced Felton to six years in prison, of which he will serve half before being released on license.

Judge Singh said: “That must have been a harrowing experience for those people working in those environments.”

Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle said: “We hope that the staff members, businesses, and the local community who have suffered as a result of Felton’s repeated offending feel reassured that he will now have a lengthy spell in prison to consider his actions.

“This was a frightening ordeal for those involved and we hope this sentence serves as a warning to others of how seriously police and the courts view offences of this nature."