Plank-waving robber demanded cash from terrified woman working in Wakefield shop
A robber and convicted paedophile armed with a plank of wood burst into a shop and demanded cash from the terrified worker.
Paul Woolsey, who previously tried to meet a child after sexual grooming, threatened to smash the shop up on Eastmoor Road in Wakefield unless the woman handed over money.
He was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week for robbery. He also admitted breaching the sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) he was given for his previous offending, by failing to register a phone he had with the authorities.
The court was told that on June 7, the female worker was behind the counter of the store when Woolsey entered with his hood up. Shop CCTV of the incident was played to the court.
Ther 32-year-old walked over and banged the wooden plank on the counter, demanding cash.
He told her “Give me £40. I will get some lads to come down. Give me £40 or I will smash the shop up.”
The woman gave him £20, fearing he might damage the premises or attack her. He then left.
The police were alerted and spotted Woolsey yards from the shop a short time later, carrying a large TV, prosecutor Emily Thorbjornsen told the court.
He was arrested and shouted towards the woman from the shop, who witnessed him being arrested: “I will come back for you.”
Woolsey, of Pinderfields Road, Wakefield, admitted breaching his SHPO, but refused to answer questions about the robbery.
He has 33 previous convictions for 47 offences, including multiple for battery and breaches of court orders.
He was convicted in 2022 of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child, cause a child to watch a sexual act and attempting to meet an under-16 girl following grooming.
Mitigating for his latest offences, James Littlehales said Woolsey had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was previously sectioned.
He said that he had been on a “five-day bender”, taking drugs and drinking, and had very little recollection of the robbery.
He said: “He accepts that he must have caused severe fear to the complainant and he apologises for that. He is remorseful for his actions.”
Judge Howard Crowson jailed him for 27 months.