Wigan man threatened to stab shop staff

A Wigan man has been jailed after threatening to stab terrified staff in a newsagents and attacking a man with a plank of wood.
Luke ColemanLuke Coleman
Luke Coleman

Luke Coleman, of no fixed address, was sentenced to three years and two months behind bars following a robbery at McColls in Marsh Green and his involvement in a brawl on King Street.

The 23-year-old, who appeared before Judge Timothy Stead at Bolton Crown Court, was given two consecutive sentences for the violent acts which occurred eight months apart.

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The court heard how on December 17 last year, at around 9.30pm Coleman entered McColls on Marsh Green wearing sunglasses and a scarf over his face.

Luke ColemanLuke Coleman
Luke Coleman

He asked for cigarettes and when the shop assistant turned her back he jumped over the counter and shouted at her to open the till or he would stab her.

A man in the store shouted out that he had called the police and he jumped back over the counter and ran from the shop.

Just moments later, Coleman returned with a pen in his hand.

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He jumped back over the counter for the final time and threatened to stab the shop assistant with it.

He then grabbed a bottle of whiskey and threatened to smash it over her head before jumping back over the counter and leaving the shop with the whiskey worth £23.65.

The other shop assistant recognised him and he left his sunglasses behind which were then tested for DNA which proved to be his.

Coleman, who denied the charge, was found guilty after a trial at Bolton Crown Court which started on October 22.

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One of his victim’s said that the staff were shaken up, and that a colleague has even left their job due to the incident.

“The members of staff were left in shock,” they said. “You don’t expect to go to work and get stabbed.”

The next offence Coleman carried out took place in August this year.

At around 1.40am on Thursday, August 22, CCTV operators reported a group of men fighting in the street on King Street.

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The defendant ran away from the scene of the fight and then returned a short time later with a plank of wood which he hit a man on the head with.

No assault charges were brought against Coleman because the victim did not provide a statement at the time.

Coleman pleaded guilty on October 26 and was sentenced to two months imprisonment consecutive to the robbery sentence.