9:14pm Wednesday 16th May 2012
By Jenny Loweth
A gun was fired at a shop assistant when two masked men robbed a Bradford corner shop, a Court heard.
The raiders, armed with a handgun and a hammer, got away with up to £950 in cash and £700 of cigarettes in the raid at Premier Whiteways newsagent and grocery store on Sunday, August 7, last year. Craig Baldwin, 23, denies robbing Chotubhai Patel, whose son ran the shop on Bolton Lane, Bradford.
A jury at Bradford Crown Court was told yesterday that Baldwin’s DNA was found on a balaclava mask discovered near the scene and that a young girl had identified him as the man who entered the shop carrying a hammer. Prosecutor Simon Waley said Mr Patel and his daughter-in-law were behind the counter at the store when the robbers struck shortly before 6pm.
One pointed a gun at Mr Patel’s chest and demanded: “Give me money. Put all the money in the bag. Don’t do anything else. Give me the money.”
Mr Patel put cash from the till into the bag and then tried to press the panic button under the counter. Mr Waley said the gunman fired at him, cutting his finger.
He told the jury the weapon was probably some form of pellet or BB gun.
The man with the hammer smashed it down on the counter and said: “If you call the police, I will kill you. Put all the cigarettes in the bag, hurry up.”
Mr Waley said the robbers ran off along Queen’s Avenue towards Queen’s Road.
Baldwin, of West Royd Drive, Windhill, Shipley, was arrested on August 18 after the DNA link was made. He denied any part in the robbery.
The trial continues.
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