TWO robbers who held up a north Belfast newsagent's at knifepoint, taking £300 in cigarettes and cash, have both been jailed.
Belfast Crown Court heard that following the raid in June last year, 23-year-old Philip Larkin was arrested after being detained outside the Ardoyne shop while his accomplice Daniel Braniff, also 23, later gave himself up to police.
Judge Patricia Smyth told the pair she was making no distinction between them despite Larkin's previous record, and because Braniff had chosen to arm himself with a 12-inch kitchen knife.
The judge said the two men, masked to conceal their identity, burst into the shop and Braniff jumped over the counter and rifled the till, while Larkin used a crisp box to bundle and carry off boxes of cigarettes.
However, Larkin suffered several injuries while being detained at the scene and had to be taken to hospital, while Braniff managed to escape only to hand himself into police after he had "sobered up".
Judge Smyth said pre-sentence reports on both men indicted they had displayed genuine remorse and that Larkin recognised the impact the robbery had on the shop assistant.
Reports also indicated that drugs and alcohol were at the seat of the offending.
Judge Smyth said in the circumstances, both men were entitled to the maximum credit for their guilty pleas which would allow her to reduce the sentence by a third.
The starting point would have been eight years had they contested the case.
Larkin, whose address was given as the Young Offenders' Centre, and Braniff, of Longlands Court, Newtownabbey were given determinate sentences of five years and eight months, half to be served in custody and half on licence.
