How Poundland receipt put armed betting shop robber behind bars

A masked robber is behind bars after he was tracked down through a Poundland receipt he dropped during an armed betting shop raid.
Michael Wright and the Poundland receipt that helped catch him.Michael Wright and the Poundland receipt that helped catch him.
Michael Wright and the Poundland receipt that helped catch him.

Michael Wright was carrying a machete the "length of a regular golf club" when he and an accomplice stormed into the Make That Bet bookies, in South Shields, and demanded cash.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the the raiders, who were both armed, left with £3,450 in cash and warned the lone worker "tell anyone and I will kill you" as they left.

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But the court heard Wright, 34, had dropped a receipt from a recent shopping trip, which police tracked back to the store it was from and confirmed his identity through CCTV.

Prosecutor Michael Hodson told the court the raid happened just as the shop, in Whiteleas Way, was due to close on August 8 last year.

Mr Hodson said Wright had his "face covered to his nose" and helped himself to cash after telling the worker "everything, now".

The court heard it was after the raiders left, after issuing the chilling warning not to tell anyone, that the worker noticed that something had been left behind.

Mr Hodson said: "He noticed a receipt on the floor.

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"This was given to the police and led to the arrest of Mr Wright.

"They did that by seeing what the receipt was for, going to the shop and looking at CCTV, identifying him."

The court heard a quick-thinking passer by took a picture of the raiders as they made their getaway by car.

When police tracked down Wright he was behind the wheel of the same car, which he drove dangerously, at high speed and on pedestrian areas, then caused a crash with another vehicle before he was arrested.

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When officers raided his home they found two machetes and £1,540 in cash.

The betting shop worker said he was "very scared" when the machete was pointed at him and believed the raider would use it if he did not do what he was ordered.

Wright, of Honeysuckle Avenue, South Shields, admitted robbery, having an offensive weapon, dangerous driving, having no licence and having no insurance.

Mr Recorder Jonathan Sandiford QC sentenced Wright, who has a criminal record, to five years and four months behind bars. Wright was banned from driving for three years and four months and must pass an extended test before he can go back on the roads.

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The judge told him: "You were tracked by a good bit of police work because you had dropped a receipt during the course of the robbery and police traced the transaction and CCTV from which you were identified."

The judge awarded the witness who took the picture of the car £100 from public funds.

Glenn Gatland, defending, said Wright and his partner had lost expensive possessions in a house fire shortly before the robbery, which he carried out to get cash.

Mr Gatland said Wright had "panicked" when he saw the police and drove dangerously because he was "worried about being caught for the robbery".

Mr Gatland said due to the coronavirus restrictions Wright's contact with loved ones has been only through telephone calls during the months he has spent on remand.