Post office thieves jailed

Oct 20 2011 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

robber

TWO thieves who admitting holding up a West Lothian Post Office with a samurai sword have been jailed.

Francis McLean, 50, who was armed with the weapon during the raid at Knightsridge Post Office in Livingston, was imprisoned for five years and three months and his accomplice Valene Brown, 21, was jailed for three years.

McLean, who was out under three separate bail orders at the time of the offence, was also ordered to be kept under supervision for a further two years.

Shop worker Aiden Gilani (25) managed to disarm McLean and turned the sword on the pair, injuring both of them, and chased them from the premises forcing them to spill most of the cash from the raid.

Lord Hardie told them at the High Court in Edinburgh: “The young man, who was the son of the postmaster, tackled you despite the fact that you, McLean, were brandishing a sword with a 20-inch blade.

“Clearly his actions were extremely brave but could have resulted in serious consequences indeed for him. It is a matter of good fortune that nobody was seriously injured as a result of your actions.

“Shopkeepers and shop assistants are entitled to be protected from people who seek to rob them. The court will do what it can to afford such employees and owners the necessary protection against criminals who threaten shopkeepers with weapons for the purpose of effecting a robbery.”

He told unemployed McLean, of Erskine Way, and jobless Brown, of Glen Crescent, both Livingston, that they would have faced sentences of seven years and four years respectively, but for their guilty pleas.

The pair earlier admitted assaulting Mr Gilani at the post office at Cameron Way on May 24 this year and robbing him of £16,270.

The court heard the 25-year-old was ordered to lie on the ground and told he would be killed if he moved as the pair emptied a five-figure sum from the safe.

However, Aiden managed to grab the weapon while one of them was distracted and used it to chase the bungling thieves out the store.

Mr Gilani hit McLean on the head and body with the weapon and his fist and also struck Brown on the head with the sword. Most of the cash taken in the raid — £14,165 was left scattered on the floor — with £2104 missing. DNA from the robbers was recovered on the weapon.

Brown and McLean escaped on bikes but Brown passed out and woke up in the garden of a stranger. She was later taken to hospital and had staples inserted in head wounds. McLean was also later found to have a seven centimetre cut to the back of his head.

The court heard that Mr Gilani’s father will have to make up for the lost cash because his son left a door insecure.