Jail time for Sheffield duo convicted over terrifying knifepoint robbery at city convenience store

Summarising the facts of the case, The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, said defendants Jack Flint-Downing and 30-year-old Luke Comer, of Highgate, Sheffield, threatened the shopkeeper with a knife, and ‘extracted’ £200 from him.

"Both defendants had their faces covered,” Judge Richardson told Sheffield Crown Court, and added that the pair proceeded to shout a racially-charged perjorative slur at the man.

Flint-Downing, aged 27, of no fixed abode, was also sentenced for 16 other crimes, including: nine counts of burglary; three counts of driving whilst disqualified; two counts of theft; one count of attempted burglary and one count of taking a motor vehicle.

Judge Richardson said the individuals whose homes Flint-Downing had burgled had been left ‘anguished’ by his actions.

A third defendant named Christopher Syphas, aged 27, of no fixed abode, was sentenced alongside Comer and Flint-Downing for two counts of theft and two counts of burglary.

Judge Richardson continued: “Flint-Downing is a persistent burglar, and plainly, took a leading role in this large-scale burglary spree in Sheffield. He has a substantial criminal record, involving burglaries and other serious crimes.”

During a hearing held on May 2, 2023, Sheffield Crown Court was told that Flint-Downing’s campaign of burglaries meant he met the criteria for a mandatory minimum three-year sentence for a defendant convicted of three successive burglaries.

Judge Richardson sentenced Flint-Downing to a total of 11 years behind bars for all of the 17 offences he was convicted of.

Comer was jailed for six years, while Syphas was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars.