Exclusive:'No remorse': Masked gun-wielding carjacker who then stabbed his barrister with pen locked up for 20 years
“I have no doubt you whatsoever you are a dangerous criminal”
A “malevolent, violent” career criminal who carjacked two separate women at gunpoint before running over a police officer has been jailed for 20 years.
Gavin Bennett, of Carwood Close, had only been out of prison for around five months when he went on a crime rampage on Sheffield’s Penistone Road in September 2022.
In the course of just a few minutes, the 45-year-old ran a red light and crashed his stolen BMW into a car full of students, pulled on a balaclava, then carjacked a mother and daughter of their own BMW at gunpoint.
He then abandoned that BMW, carjacked a second woman of her Vauxhall also at gunpoint, and used it to run over a special police constable who feared for his life as he fell under the wheels.
Then, when a barrister arrived to help him in the cells at Sheffield Crown Court, he punched his lawyer with a pen in his grip.
“I have no doubt whatsoever you are a dangerous criminal,” said The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, at the crown court today (June 18).
“You are prepared to do almost anything including threatening and inflicting violence in order to achieve criminal objectives.
“That special constable thought he was going to die. It was only by good fortune that he didn’t.
"I have no doubt whatsoever you must be punished severely for your conduct and the public needs protection from you for a prolonged period of time.
“I do not think it is justified to impose a life sentence - but this case borders that territory.”
Bennett was led in handcuffed to a custody officer, and smirked as he sentence and crimes were read out.
String of carjackings at gunpoint
After running a red light and crashing his stolen BMW into another car at the junction of Bradfield Road and Penistone Road on September 28, 2022, Bennett sought to escape the scene.
He pulled on a balaclava, brandished an imitation firearm - thought to be real by all those involved in the terrifying incident - and carjacked a woman and her daughter, aged just 15, by forcing them out of the vehicle and then speeding off.
He drove down the wrong side of Penistone Road, but was stopped by stationary vehicles near the junction close to McDonald’s.
So he abandoned the recently stolen vehicle - and carjacked a different woman of her Vauxhall Tiguan, again at gunpoint.
Multiple witnesses to the man waving a gun and forcing drivers out of their cars later told police they feared for their lives.
Special constable leaps into action
But it was then as Bennett sought to flee the scene he drew the attention of three special constables who had been dispatched to a sporting event in the area.
Noticing the injured women and the chaos unfolding at the scene, one of the officers, courageous Special Constable Stephen Foulds, sprung into action in a bid to try and assist Bennett’s victims.
But Bennett chose to ram the officers in his bid to escape, and ran over Stephen Foulds who was “dragged under.”
“You drove dangerously and directly at them - causing one of them to jump for his life while you ran over another.
“He thought he was going to die.
“It was only by the nature of the vest he was wearing that caused the wheels to glance off and not cause more serious harm.”
SC Foulds suffered a number of serious injuries to his back and leg, the latter of which required surgical intervention.
Bennett escaped and burned the car - and Judge Richardson noted he likely intended to double back and destroy the initial stolen BMW so as to destroy evidence.
The BMW was crucial in proving Bennett was responsible. Aside from the reams of CCTV evidence, his saliva was found on the airbag from the crash.
Stabbing his barrister
Incredulously, Bennett - who the court heard has a history of involvement with over 100 crimes, starting when he was 12 - opted to represent himself at court, with the judge remarking he was “obstructive and uncooperative” at every stage.
This included insisting he would cross examine his victims himself and expose them to further fear at his questioning.
Then, in February 2025, when he was told in the cells at Sheffield Crown Court that he would not be allowed to do this by his barrister, Elroy Claxton - who was also showing him CCTV evidence of his blatant crimes on a laptop - Bennett punched the lawyer with a pen in his grip, causing a puncture wound.
He rained down more blows before he was dragged away by custody officers.
Bennett was subsequently charged with, and pleaded guilty to, a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in connection with the attack on Mr Claxton.
Impact on victims
In time, all of the victims in the case - the car of students, the carjacked mother and daughter, the second woman who was robbed of her vehicle, SC Foulds and many witnesses - all told police in statements how the incident had affected them psychologically and physically.
Many of the crash victims live in pain, the 15-year-old girl and her mother struggle with PTSD, and PC Foulds says he is “less confident” in his duty.
Bennett denied the entire incident, stating the masked man in the CCTV footage wasn’t him.
“A number of people who were present genuinely feared for their lives that evening,” said Prosecutor Mr Strong earlier in the case.
The court was read statements from some of those affected on June 12, 2026, during the first part of Bennett’s sentencing hearing.
One such statement came from SC Foulds who was present in court. He described the ongoing physical and emotional toll of Bennett’s offending, as he works on his journey to recovery.
SC said the incident has affected all aspects of his life, and he “still experiences anxiety” years later.
SC Foulds said he has returned to policing, and while he remains “proud to serve,” the incident has left him feeling less confident in the role.
Another of the statements came from the mother, who described the devastating impact Bennett’s robbery had on her daughter, who, while she was still a child, was confronted with the fear that “someone had the power to end her life and her mother’s.”
The woman said her daughter has recently reached the milestone of buying her first car, and her ongoing fears of what Bennett might have done to them had they been in a three door, instead of a five door, car at the time of the robbery informed which vehicle she felt comfortable buying.
The women in the other car robbed by Bennett suffered whiplash during the incident. In a statement to the court, one of them revealed the financial strain caused by Bennett’s offending after she was forced to take time off work.
‘No remorse’
A jury convicted Bennett of a raft of charges in connection with the incident including two counts of robbery, two counts of possessing an imitation firearm when committing an offence, assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to SC Foulds, two counts of dangerous driving and one count of handling stolen goods.
Bennett, who has a criminal record spanning 100 offences from 24 previous court appearances, was convicted of the offences relating to the Penistone Road incident at the conclusion of his fourth trial in March 2026.
“You committed one serious crime after another without a moment of thought for the disastrous consequences for the victims,” said the judge.
“The jury rejected your entirely bogus account.
“I have a clear idea of your malevolent, irrational character.
“I have suspicions the firearms used in this case were genuine - but, as none were found, this cannot be proved.
“I expressly asked you in a pre-sentence hearing if you had any remorse.
“You expressly said you did not.”
Bennett was sentenced to 20 years in prison with an extended licence period of five years on release.
Bennett - who smiled to himself as he was told he could be in his 60s when he is released - told the judge he would appeal the conviction. He previously suggested the CCTV of his crimes had been “doctored” by South Yorkshire Police.