Teenager, who threatened c-storekeeper with BB gun and knife, sentenced for 28 months

A teenager who threatened a shopkeeper with a BB gun during an attempted robbery has been locked up for 28 months, stated recent reports.

According to local reports, teenager Kyle Holder entered Young’s Convenience Store in Beaconsfield Road, Lowestoft shortly before 10pm on October 10 last year. He was wearing a black hooded top and had the lower part of his face covered with a scarf, Ipswich Crown Court heard last week.

The 19-year-old asked for cigarettes and vodka and had then pulled a BB gun out of a carrier bag and ordered the shopkeeper to fill it with cash, reports said.

The shopkeeper, who had been working alone, moved from behind the till to the customer area of the shop and Holder had then gone to the shop door where he pulled out a knife and again demanded money.

Holder left empty handed and was arrested after his fingerprint was found on the carrier bag he’d taken to the store, reports said.

During the court process, Holder  of Notley Road, Lowestoft, admitted attempted robbery, possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and possession of a knife in a public place.  

Sentencing him Judge Emma Peters said the incident must have been “utterly terrifying” for the shopkeeper.

She accepted that Holder had run to the door almost immediately after he pulled out the BB gun and that he had had “more challenges in his life than many young men.”

However, she said the offence was so serious that she had to pass an immediate custodial sentence.