Brighton man jailed after thwarted knifepoint robbery

A 62-year-old labourer from Brighton has been jailed for five years for trying to rob a convenience store.

Richard Slater, of Walmer Crescent, Bevendean, threatened shopkeeper Tario Rahman with a 6in knife and demanded money.

But Mr Rahman, 45, who was by alone in the shop, put up a struggle and used a chair leg as he fought off the hooded raider.

Slater fled emptyhanded from the Coombe Road Convenience Store at about 7.30am on Sunday 21 October last year, except for the chair leg which he dumped in an alleyway near by.

He was jailed at Lewes Crown Court on Monday (29 April) after being convicted of trying to rob the shop and having a knife.

Detective Constable Paul Clements, of Sussex Police, said: “The shopkeeper was very brave in fighting off a man armed with a knife.

“The outcome could have been very different and fortunately he was not injured.

“People who own local businesses like this are part of the backbone of the local community and deserve protection from the courts.

“This sentence reflects the seriousness with which the court regarded this offence, which involved the use of a knife against a lone shopkeeper.”

Richard Slater