A robber threatened a shop worker with a knife and said he was going to ‘slash her face’ when she was just 30 minutes into her first shift.
Louis Conroy, 32, entered the shop in Clover Hill Road, Nelson, at around 7pm on August 14, 2023, and after asking the two female shop assistants if they were the only people there, demanded £50 from the till.
One of the workers, who was only half an hour into her first shift at the shop, initially thought Conroy was joking, but realised he wasn’t when she noticed a knife in his right hand which he was resting on the counter.
Stephen Parker, prosecuting at Burnley Crown Court, described how the other shop assistant then hurried over to the till, before Conroy told them, “if you don’t open the f***ing till right now I’m going to jump over and stab you. I’m going to slash your face".
After Conroy left having taken the £50 he demanded, the shop owner was called and when she reviewed the CCTV, immediately recognised Conroy and said he was a regular customer.
Mr Parker said in the early hours of the next day, at around 2.40am, Conroy handed himself in at Burnley police station, telling an officer outside, “I’m Louis Conroy, I’m wanted for robbery and I’ve got this knife on me.”
As he was arrested, he said, “please tell the lady at the shop I’m sorry.”
Louis Conroy (Image: Lancashire Police)
During a search, a small amount of cannabis was recovered from the waistband of his trousers.
Conroy, also of Clover Hill Road, pleaded guilty to all matters.
Victim personal statements from the two shop assistants described how the reality of what happened did not sink in until much later, developing into shock and trauma which resulted in one needing counselling sessions.
Ellie Watson, mitigating, said Conroy was “in the throws of drug addiction” at the time of the offence and was “deeply sorry” for his actions.
She said: “He would never have done something like this if it wasn’t for his addiction to drugs and he wishes he could go back in time to change what he did.
“He is now completely detoxed from all drugs and has done a drug awareness course in prison.”
Conroy has 13 previous convictions for 16 offences, including an 11-month suspended sentence imposed at Preston Crown Court last July for assaulting a man with a glass bottle.
In that offence, which happened in Coal Clough Lane, Burnley, one man suffered cuts to his head and ear and was left covered in blood, while the shattered glass also caused injuries to another man.
When one asked who the offender was, Conroy replied: “I’m Louis Conroy. You know why I’ve done this.”
Recorder Sophie Cartwright adjourned sentencing for Conroy in this case, saying she needed more time to consider her sentence.
He is due to be scheduled at 10am today (Thursday) at Burnley Crown Court.
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