Man pleads guilty to bookmaker robberies with his walking stick
A man has pleaded guilty to a series of robberies at bookmakers with a walking stick after detectives tracked him down when he gave his name to a railway ticket inspector, writes Yann Tear.
Officers investigated a linked series of armed robberies at bookmakers in Lee, Norwood, Sutton and Crayford between Monday, April 4 and Sunday, April 24.
They quickly found that the suspect – 50-year-old Brett Mullan – was travelling to and from the offences via rail and so CCTV was obtained.
Mullan was stopped on a train by a railway revenue ticket inspector as he made his way to the second offence in Burnt Ash Road, Lee, on April 13, and provided his real name.
From there police gathered footage of each offence, and of Mullan leaving from and returning to his home in Wellington Street, Gravesend.
He was arrested by Flying Squad officers on April 25, after leaving home, and charged.
Detectives searched his home and found a collapsible walking stick. After checking CCTV, it was discovered this was what he used to resemble a shotgun by concealing it within a carrier bag.
A total of £2,780 was stolen over the course of the robberies.
Mullan appeared in custody at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, April 26.
He was remanded in custody to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to five counts of robbery and five counts of possession of an imitation firearm.
He will appear for sentencing at the same court on August 1.
Detective Constable Carl Stallabras, of the Flying Squad, said: “Mullan terrified members of the public and staff at the bookmakers who were going about their normal lives when he demanded cash and made threats of serious violence. Those people feared for their lives.
“But a simple mistake on his way to the second offence was all we needed to track him down, and from there the wealth of evidence we obtained left him no choice but to plead guilty.”
The offences took place in: High Street, Sutton, on Monday, April 4 Burnt Ash Road, Lee, on Wednesday, April 13 and again on Monday, April 18, in High Street, Norwood Junction, on Saturday, April 23 and in Crayford Road, Crayford, on Sunday, April 24.
Brett Mullan – Picture: Met Police
