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Doncaster man gets 21 years in jail!

Man jailed for 21-years for Doncaster robberies

A prison absconder who went on to commit a series of robberies across Doncaster has been handed a sentence of over 20-years.

Earlier this year, 45-year-old Michael Wright was detained by officers from the Doncaster Fortify Team, after failing to return to HMP Hatfield on Thursday 4 July following day release on a temporary licence.

In the six days prior to officers finding and detaining him, Wright was identified as being involved in two local robberies, before fleeing to the West Yorkshire area.

At about 1pm on Monday 8 July, Wright entered the Heron Foods store on Great North Road, Woodlands, armed with a screwdriver. He threatened staff before leaving with an amount of cash from the till.

The following day (Tuesday 9 July), officers were called to the One Stop shop on Warmsworth Road, Balby, where Wright had threatened staff with a knife, just before 8pm.

After making further demands for cash to be handed over, he attacked the till until he was able to run from the shop with the cash drawer.

Detective Constable Mark Roostan, the investigating officer, said: “In both cases, Wright was quickly identified on CCTV footage as the person being involved, and officers from the Doncaster Fortify Team, dedicated to tackling serious and organised crime and protecting vulnerable people, intensified the hunt for him.

“On Thursday 11 July, our team found Wright at an address in West Yorkshire and he was immediately brought into custody, where he has remained ahead of his appearance at court.”

On Thursday 21 November, Wright, formerly of HMP Hatfield and originally from Doncaster, was jailed at Sheffield Crown Court for two counts of robbery, two counts of possession of an offensive weapon and being unlawfully at large from prison. He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing and was sentenced to 21-years, broken down into an 18-year custodial sentence which was then extended by a further three years, granted for certain violent offences.

DC Roostan added: “Wright claimed he didn’t return to HMP Hatfield that day for ‘personal reasons’ but then continued to deliberately evade arrest.

“He knew he was wanted but instead of handing himself in, having been trusted on temporary day release, he committed two serious offences which left shop workers terrified, and one woman, a shop worker at Heron Foods, suffered a minor injury.

“She has since commented that she feels a lot better after attending the hearing and now feels that she can move on better with her life.

“I’m pleased that the sentence he has received is substantial; it reflects the severity of his actions and his attempts to deliberately evade police arrest.”

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