Man waved sawn-off shotgun at petrol station cashier before off-road police chase

A man waved a sawn-off shotgun at a petrol station cashier before leading police on an off-road chase in the middle of the night.

Richard Dye told the garage worker he intended to use the gun on a man who owed him money - before leading police on a chase through Mexborough and surrounding areas and dumping the weapon in a farmer’s corn field.

An axe and a balaclava were later recovered in his Mitsubishi Warrior pick-up truck.

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Dye, aged 37 and of Arnold Crescent, Mexborough, was sentenced to three years and three months in jail at Sheffield Crown Court after admitting possessing a firearm and dangerous driving.

Laura Marshall, prosecuting, said Dye had driven to the Jet service station on Doncaster Road in Mexborough at about 1.20am on August 6 last year. She said the worker thought Dye was in an ‘irate’ state as he bought alcohol and cigarettes through a cashier’s window and she told him to calm down.

Miss Marshall said that when he went back to his car, Dye drove up to the station, pulled down his window and waved the gun - saying he was going to use it on somebody from Denaby who owed him money.

“He produced the weapon at the window. He said ‘He is going to get some of this’, then drove off,” she said.

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At 1.40am after the incident had been reported, Dye was seen driving close to Mexborough police station and police tried to stop him but he drove away, eventually losing them after driving across a farmer’s corn field.

Miss Marshall said at 2.10am, there was a call from Aspen Lodge health unit reporting ‘screaming and shouting’ and a male saying ‘Let me in’.

The Warrior vehicle was found abandoned on nearby Manvers Road and contained shotgun cartridges, an axe and a full-face balaclava.

Shortly after 3.30am, as a detective was taking a statement from the petrol station cashier, Dye pulled up in a Nissan Patrol car and said ‘I have done it, I have shot him’.

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Miss Marshall said: “There is no report of any weapon being fired that night. It was bravado.”

The police officer spoke to Dye after the cashier pointed him out, with the defendant giving his real name but denying an involvement and driving off.

Miss Marshall said Dye has previous convictions for dangerous driving and for possessing a prohibited weapon, which was CS gas.

The court was told Dye, who had been working as a telecoms company, regretted his ‘extremely foolish’ actions.

Judge Simon Lawler QC sentenced Dye to 39 months in prison and disqualified him from driving for three years.