"Naive" Sheffield teen robbed off-licence at knifepoint for vodka

Kailen Rose wore a black hat with crude eye-slits to cover his face when he entered Johal's Mini Market, on Robin Lane, in Beighton, at 8.05am, on February 16.

He held a three-inch blade half a metre from the owner's face and said: "Back the f*** up blood," while a second man stole cigarettes and scratch cards, prosecutor James Gould told Sheffield Crown Court.

When the owner made a break for the door, Rose grabbed his arm causing him to fall backwards.

On the ground, the owner threw a tin at Rose, who threw a jar back at him.

The pair fled, taking three bottles of vodka. The owner was left with a scratched neck and a wound on his forearm that needed three sutures.

He was able to identify Rose from CCTV when he made earlier visits.

In a statement, he said he had owned the shop for many years without trouble, but after the robbery "became wary and couldn't relax," and his family worried about him.

Richard Baradell, mitgating, said Rose has no previous convictions and had written a letter which read: "I am sorry. I was in a bad place. I had been drinking and taking drugs. I am sorry."

His boss at a restaurant, where he worked as a pot-washer, said he was shocked by Rose's arrest but promised him work on his release.

"After a party the booze ran out and someone hatched a plan to steal some from the off-licence," Mr Barradell said. "Like a fool, he agreed.”

He said Rose, who suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and dyspraxia, was naive, had no intention of using the knife, and was only 18 at the time of the offence.

Rose, 19, of Spring Lane, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to robbery, after initially denying the offence.

Judge David Dixon said he was “prepared to accept you aren't dangerous,” and that “this is completely out of character.”

Because of Rose’s “genuine remorse" he reduced a 58-month sentence down to 45 months.

Charges against Kaylom Delaney, 20, of Baildon Close, Leeds, were dropped.

Read the latest cases from Sheffield Crown Court here.

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