Two men and a woman handed more than 20 years in jail for £50,000 Sheffield robbery

Carl Philip Kennedy, 49, of Brays Lane, Coventry and his brother Raymond John Kennedy, 53, of Symons Crescent, Parson Cross, were sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court for conspiracy to commit robbery.

Dawn Kennedy, 47, also of Brays Lane, was sentenced for handling stolen goods.

The charge dates back to Saturday 17 October last year, when the three robbed a 44-year-old man who was transporting around £55,000 worth of cash as part of his job.

The victim, who was required to transport the money every Saturday morning, had parked his car on Launce Road, close to Symons Road to collect his friend Raymond Kennedy to accompany him, as he usually did.

As the victim waited, he saw a man approach the car, armed with a hammer. The man, who would later be identified as Carl Kennedy, began smashing the car windows before hitting the driver over the head with the hammer and on his legs.

While trying to protect himself, the driver became aware of a second person who had reached into the car and stolen the bag containing the cash.

Carl Kennedy briefly stopped his attack and walked away, before returning shortly after to assault the victim again and steal his car keys.

As the victim tried to recover from the assault, he noticed a third person waiting near a black Vauxhall Insignia before all three people got in and drove off.

The incident was soon reported to police and officers began searching CCTV footage for any Vauxhall Insignia that was in the Sheffield area around the time of the incident.

A car matching the description was identified as belonging to Carl Kennedy and further checks showed that the car had left the West Midlands area at about 5.15am that morning traveling to Sheffield and arriving back in West Midlands at about 8.55am.

Officers from West Midlands Police then arrested Carl Kennedy on suspicion of robbery and the stolen cash was immediately seized.

Further enquiries led to South Yorkshire Police officers arresting Raymond Kennedy on suspicion of robbery.

While making the arrest, officers saw text messages from Carl Kennedy’s wife Dawn Kennedy, implying she had known about and been involved in the incident. She was subsequently arrested by West Midlands officers on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery.

The three were charged on Sunday 18 October with conspiracy to commit robbery. Carl Kennedy was also charged with section 18 assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

The two men entered guilty pleas to the charges at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday 29 February before being sentenced the following day. Dawn Kennedy pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods.

Carl Kennedy has been sentenced to 10 years, Raymond Kennedy for 8 years and Dawn Kennedy for 2 years.

Detective Constable Gareth Rees, the investigating officer, said: “I am pleased that these three offenders have each been given jail sentences for this crime.

“All three made considerable efforts to cover their tracks following the robbery, even stopping at a garage to dispose of the original envelopes the cash was in.

“The victim was subjected an extremely traumatic ordeal all for what one of the offenders described as ‘easy money.’

“I hope that their sentences sends out a strong message that any offenders who commit such crimes will be identified and will be brought to justice.”