Summary:
- A 43-year-old homeless man allegedly robbed a South Shields bookmaker on Friday evening.
- Gary Biggins used a screwdriver to threaten the staff member and take off with £110 from the Ladbrokes shop on Ocean Road.
- The man who didn’t provide a fixed abode refused to enter pleas to his charges at the South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court.
A man with no fixed abode has been accused of having allegedly robbed a UK bookmaker shop located in South Shields while using a screwdriver to threaten a female staff member at the venue.
The man, who has since been identified as 43-year-old Gary Biggins, is accused of stealing £110 from the Ladbrokes shop located in Ocean Road, South Shields.
According to reports, the robbery took place at around 8 pm on Friday, June 14.
The Homeless Man Did Not Enter Any Pleas
Biggins was brought forth to the South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, where he was supposed to enter his pleas to the charges that had been brought to him.
The list included charges of robbery as well as possession of an offensive weapon.
However, the man refused to enter any pleas. The man is expected to enter guilty pleas to both matters once his case is sent over to the Newcastle Crown Court on July 15.
According to prosecutor Carolyn Craggs, the man was arrested on the day after he allegedly committed the offences that he is now accused of.
Biggins’ defending lawyer, John Williams, did not apply for bail for his client. Moreover, he commented that his client had already hinted that he was going to plead guilty at crown court.
District Judge Zoe Passfield decided that Biggins should remain in custody ahead of his case moving on to the crown court in mid-July.
Similar Reports of Robberies
In a similar case, at the end of February of this year, a 40-year-old man was sentenced to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to the robbery that he committed in a betting shop.
On October 29, 2023, the man, identified as Robert Paul Howieson, entered the Silver Street bookies where he spent an hour and a half placing a few bets prior to approaching the front counter and demanding money, under threat of a knife that he pulled from his waistband.
In April, police announced they were investigating a knifepoint robbery that took place at a bookmaker in Nottingham.
A man allegedly entered the Betfred shop in Ilkeston Road, Radford, punched the female staff member there, and asked her to give him cash while waving a knife at her.