Gun-toting Leeds shop robber has jail sentence increased over drug-dealing charge

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A gun-carrying robber who was tackled by a heroic shop worker and handed a long sentence has been returned to court and given further jail time.

Marlon Stewart was given a 15-year extended jail term in April 2023 for frenzied spree in which he waved the weapon at shop workers and members of the public.

He appeared at Leeds Crown Court again this week where he admitted drug-dealing offences he committed a year before his rampage.

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The 38-year-old was driving a Vauxhall Corsa at Belle Isle Circus at around 3.15am on September 28, 2021, when officers pulled him over because of a faulty brake light.

He and his passenger, David Wright, were both searched and they were both found to have significant quantities of cash on them. Ten wraps of crack cocaine were found in the footwell and another one in the passenger door, worth £120 in total.

Stewart battling with the shop worker in One Stop.Stewart battling with the shop worker in One Stop.
Stewart battling with the shop worker in One Stop. | WYP

A dealer checklist was found along with five mobile phones, some of which contained clear messages related to dealing.

Both were arrested and gave no-comment interviews. They later admitted dealing in Class A drugs.

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Stewart, who has 43 previous offences to his name, appeared in court via video link from HMP Ranby in Nottinghamshire. Mitigating on his behalf, Timothy Jacobs said his client knew a new custodial sentence was inevitable, but said street dealers usually work under direction from others.

Wright, of Parkway Court, Seacroft has previous convictions for assault, theft and criminal damage. Mitigating for the 28-year-old, Ed Youlton said Wright had become addicted to drugs and was selling to feed his own habit.

He said that Wright was now clean from drugs, having worked with the counselling service Forward Leeds since his release from prison for another matter.

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Judge Richard Mansell KS said it was “depressingly familiar” that drug-dealer cases are often delayed in reaching the courts, with this case taking three years.

He gave Wright a two-year sentence, suspended for two years, with 200 hours of unpaid work. Stewart was given a two-year sentence to run consecutively to his existing 15-years-and-four-months’ sentence for the robberies.

During a 20-minute period, Stewart had targeted the Premier store and the One Stop in Roundhay. He also robbed teenagers in a park and snatched a woman’s Audi who had entered one of the shops. He had threatened her into handing over her car keys.

He was only caught after CCTV footage from the One Stop showed him fighting with a shop worker and his hood was pulled down, allowing the police to later identify him.

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