A masked robber who walked into Swansea corner shops with a knife and threatened the staff behind the counter has been jailed for nine years, South Wales Police said.
Shane Burne, 34, of Fforestfach, chose shops where one person was working alone, the force said, covered his face, brandished the blade and walked out with goods he had not paid for.
He did it four times, in Manselton, Brynhyfryd and Waunarlwydd, in August and September. A fifth attempt failed.
Detective Inspector Thomas Richardson said: “Shane Burne deliberately targeted local convenience stores where staff were working alone, and he took advantage of that.”
The fear he left behind was the point, the officer said: “Whilst wearing a face covering, he brandished knives at the victims, which will have undoubtably caused them a great deal of fear.”
Burne was charged with four robberies and an attempted robbery on 4 September and was in front of Swansea magistrates that morning. Detective Chief Inspector Alethea Fowler said then that robbery was “a violent crime which has a big impact on victims’ lives”.
He pleaded guilty to all five counts on 9 October. The nine-year sentence followed.
Det Insp Richardson called it “a heavy sentence as punishment” and said it was “pleasing” to see. Even one instance of knife crime was one too many, he said, and tackling the harm it causes was “an absolute priority” for the force.
Shop workers in Waunarlwydd and along Llangyfelach Road were the ones the force named when it charged him; the shops themselves have not been identified.
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