Ashley Eadie (Image: Gwent Police)
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A man who kept telling a petrol station cashier he was sorry – even as he produced a pair of scissors and demanded the contents of the till – has been sent to prison for two years and eight months.
The robbery
Ashley Eadie walked into Rhymney Service Station in Rhymney at about 7.30am on April 19, his hood pulled up, dark glasses on and the bottom half of his face hidden.
His opening question to the cashier was whether the shop sold alcohol. Told that none could be sold at that hour, he took out a pair of scissors and demanded money from the till.
Prosecutor Harry Baker told the court that Eadie said during the robbery: “Sorry, I don’t want to do this but if I don’t take the money, they’ll kill me.”
The apologies did not stop there – he continued saying sorry for the duration of the raid. He left with £115, and the cashier rang police straight away.
Handing himself in
Just after 11am the next morning, Eadie presented himself at Bargoed Police Station. He told officers he “couldn’t live with what he had done”.
He explained to police that he was homeless and had been staying at a friend’s address. The pair had been drinking and using crack cocaine together, and his money had run out. Of the cash taken from the till, £15 went to the friend and the remainder was put towards a debt.
Guilty pleas and record
Eadie, aged 32 and of no fixed abode, admitted robbery and possession of a bladed article. He had five previous convictions covering eight offences.
Mitigation
Kevin Seal, for the defence, said his client had been under no illusions about the outcome. “He’s never expected anything other than an immediate custodial sentence,” he said.
Mr Seal traced the collapse to 2021, which he described as “a turning point”. A relationship breakdown and a drink-driving conviction were followed by the loss of Eadie’s job and then his home, and his “life spiralled”.
“Ultimately he became involved with others and in the drug world,” Mr Seal said.
“He’s probably at his all time low.
“He was spending every single penny that he had either on alcohol or, more predominantly, on drugs.”
The court heard Eadie had begun seeking help for his drug and alcohol problems while in custody and was genuinely remorseful.
Sentencing
Judge Carl Harrison was unmoved by the repeated apologies. “Despite the fact that you were apologising to him, that didn’t stop you doing what you were doing,” he told the defendant, before jailing him for two years and eight months.
