Tierney’s Shop, Roslea
A 25-year-old man has been jailed for four and a half years for the robbery of a grocery store in Roslea in which a woman was threatened at knife point.
Michal Blazejewski was sentenced to two years in custody after he was convicted of robbery and common assault.
Blazejewsk, of Tully in Monaghan, targeted the Day to Day store on March 28, this year, when two men wearing balaclavas and one brandishing a knife took €400 from the shop on Roslea’s Main Street.
He was apprehended by a brave member of the public moments after the robbery while his co-accused ran away.
He was represented by barrister Barry Gibson at Dungannon Crown Court.
The defendant appeared in court three days after the robbery where he openly wept as District Judge Nigel Broderick refused his bail application at the magistrates court.
A prosecutor outlined to the court that on Friday, March 28, at around 3.15pm, two men wearing balaclavas and dark clothing went in to the Roslea store.
One of the men, who was believed to be Blazejewski, ransacked the euro till taking approximately €200 and a further €200 from a cash bag.
The other man approached the female staff member shouting “money, money, money” in an aggressive manner while allegedly brandishing a seven inch knife in his left hand.
The woman was punched to the face with such force that she banged her head off a fridge door and fell to the ground.
When she stood up and told them there was no money, the man hit her on the face causing her lip to rip open.
She was later medically examination by a doctor who treated her for swelling to both cheeks and five stitches to her lip.
As the two men left the store, a number of people who witnessed the incident followed the pair and one man detained the defendant while the second man made off with the get away car, a silver Volkswagen Golf, towards the Monaghan border.
As the member of the public tried to hold down the defendant, he was punched in the eye.
During police interview, Blazejewski admitted he was involved in the incident and cooperated with police enquiries.
As Judge Broderick sent him into custody he fell to his knees and wept as family members sitting in the public gallery were openly distressed.
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