Escaped prisoner jailed for 10 years for Brighton armed robberies
An escaped prisoner has been jailed for 10 years after he held up four shops in Brighton in less than a week.
Darren Mills, 34, threatened staff with a knife but was chased from the last of the four shops that he targeted.
Sussex Police then searched the area, found him and arrested him.
Mills walked out of Ford Open Prison in April while serving an indeterminate sentence for robbery after holding up the Spar in Lewes Road, Brighton, in November 2005.
He stole cash when robbed
- Hartleys in St George’s Road in Kemp Town on Sunday 5 May
- the Co-op store in Carden Avenue in Hollingbury on Monday 6 May
- another branch of Hartleys in St George’s Road on Thursday 9 May
But a brave member of staff at the Co-op in St George’s Road, Kemp Town, chased the knife-wielding Mills out of the shop on Saturday 11 May.
Darren Mills
Mills was charged with three counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery, four counts of having an offensive weapon and escaping from custody.
He was convicted of all the charges when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court where was jailed for 10 years yesterday (Wednesday 4 December).
Detective Constable Graham Lewendon said: “Mills is a dangerous man who is capable of being very violent.
“He was bold and seemingly unaffected while he carried out a campaign of robberies across Brighton that caused the local community a great amount of fear.
“Having him off the streets means Brighton and Hove is a safer place to live and work.”
