A man who was arrested and charged by Rushcliffe Police in connection with two incidents separated by just ten minutes at our two Ruddington food stores last October has been sent to prison for two and a half years.
44 year-old Keith McLachlan, who admitted robbery, attempted robbery and having a bladed article, was jailed for his offences at Nottingham Crown Court.
McLachlan entered the Sainsbury’s Local on Dutton’s Hill (below) at about 5.40pm on Saturday 5th October 2019 and demanded a cashier should open the till. But he ran off empty handed after the cashier sounded an alarm.
About 10 minutes later he entered Ruddington Co-op on Church Street (top photo), going over to the till and asking for some items. Once the till was opened it was reported he grabbed some cash, leaving the store with a bag of coins. But a member staff chased after the offender and detained him – with help from a member of the public – until police arrived on the scene. As well as recouping the money, officers found McLachlan was carrying “an old fashioned cut throat razor” – although this was never seen by shop staff.
The court heard that McLachlan, who comes from South Africa, has dual nationality. He’d previously run a business with his wife but was hit hard when she passed away and had become homeless.
Jasmine Kumar, mitigating, said: “He was living in an unsavoury property, undertaking the role of pot washer with residents who were taking heroin. He relapsed into taking heroin and had a small drugs debt of £60 which led him to commit these offences.”
Judge John Burgess said that McLachlan’s drug problem was “not an excuse, but something of an explanation”. After hearing about the trauma his actions had caused for one female shop worker, he warned McLachlan: “The trouble with this kind of offending is the huge effect it may have on people.”
The judge then passed sentence on Keith McLachlan – putting him behind bars for 30 months.
