'Pathetic' robber fired shots in Leeds shop after forgetting to cover his face - before asking for gun back

Bungling drug addict Mark Russell tried to rob Misha Food and Wine in Harehills and pulled out the gun when staff tried to confront him, pulling the trigger twice as a warning. He had gone behind the empty counter to grab bottles of spirits.

But a have-a-go hero then snatched the pistol – which could only fire blanks – before two staff members pushed Russell out the door and quickly pulled the shutters down.

The hapless 42-year-old then stood outside the Foundary Approach shop shouting that he wanted his gun back, saying he was going to get another gun and come back if they didn’t hand him the first one back.

Leeds Crown Court heard that Russell had walked into the store on November 12 last year, and then tried to put a scarf over his face – but only after CCTV picked up clear images of his face. Police were quickly able to identify him and arrest him. He gave a prepared statement during interview then refused to answer questions.

Russell, of Seaforth Grove, Harehills, has 18 convictions for 37 offences, largely for shop thefts. He was given a suspended sentence last years for multiple thefts at B&Q and going equipped for theft.

Mitigating on his behalf, Carl Templar-Vasey said Russell has a long-standing drug addiction and owed money to dealers, so got the gun to help rob the shop and pay back his debt.

He said: “While it must have been terrifying for shop staff, it was incredibly unsophisticated. He walks into a shop where there is CCTV everywhere. It was a poorly-executed attempt to commit a burglary.

"It was bound for failure given the way he went about it. There were some pathetic elements to it, he was quickly disarmed and thrown out of the shop, then he stands outside asking for his gun back.”

Admitting a charge of attempted robbery and possession of an imitation firearm with an intent to commit and offence, he appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds, where he has been held on remand since his arrest.

Mr Templar-Vasey added: “It’s finally dawned on him that the major problem in his life is taking drugs. He hopes he can put himself in a much better position on his release from this sentence – to stop his addiction and to stop appearing before the courts.”

Judge Rodney Jameson KC gave him 34 months’ jail, and activated four months of his suspended sentence from the B&Q offences to run consecutively, meaning a total of 38 months behind bars.

He told Russell: “You acquired from somewhere a blank-firing pistol. Even blanks fired from close range can cause potentially fatal injuries. They are not without their dangers.

“They are made to look realistic, and the the shop workers have no idea if its real or not. They seemed to have acted with remarkable calmness.”