Four sentenced for £10,000 raid on Mexborough shop

FOUR men were caught red-handed by police stealing more than £10,500 worth of cigarettes and cash from a convenience store after a tip-off from a member of the public.
The white van parked up near McColls which police found with stolen goods in.The white van parked up near McColls which police found with stolen goods in.
The white van parked up near McColls which police found with stolen goods in.

Kieran Wragg (19), who also admitted stealing the store’s keys from an employee, and Branwell Butler (26), were handed suspended sentences on Wednesday (6) for the break-in at McColls convenience store in Mexborough in September.

Wragg’s brother Anthony (30), of Norfolk Park Road, Sheffield, who committed the burglary while on licence, was jailed for three years.

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Ben Archer (19), of Fitzwilliam Road, Eastwood, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to burglary, failed to attend the sentencing and a warrant was executed for his arrest.

Ms Stephanie Hollis, prosecuting at Sheffield Crown Court, said the men had burgled the store at around 2am on September 30.

She said police had been sent to the scene following a tip-off from a member of the public, who had seen three men acting suspiciously on Thomas Street.

Police arrived to find the doors open, almost 800 cigarette packets and 27 packets of cigarette papers in the van.

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When they looked through the shop’s ajar fire doors, the saw three masked men and ordered them to lie down.

Butler and Kieran Wragg, of Kynance Crescent, Brinsworth, obeyed but Archer struggled with officers before being detained.

The police found Anthony Wragg, who had 35 previous convictions for 84 offences, in the store room surrounded by cigarette packets.

He had two sets of keys, including one for the van, which had false number plates.

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Two shopping trolleys had also been loaded up with alcohol, Ms Hollis added, and Butler, of Standon Road, Sheffield, had £2,753 in cash from the shop safe on him.

Anthony Wragg had £225 from the till.

Ms Hollis said the total loss amounted to £10,651, which excluded the earmarked alcohol.

The men also failed in an attempt to break the CCTV system and the burglary had been streamed through to the store’s headquarters, the court heard.

The stolen keys had been stolen from the jacket pocket of a shop worker by Kieran Wragg, who knew her son and had visited their home the previous evening.

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Wragg, who has no previous convictions, was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years.

Joiner Butler, who has 29 convictions for 45 offences, was given a 16-month sentence, which was suspended for two years after a positive reference from employers.

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