A YOUNG man, who along with his four friends formed an armed crew that terrorised businesses across the Hunter during a three-day crime spree in early 2022, has been jailed for a maximum of 11 years in Newcastle District Court.
Blake Stanton, now 20, robbed a cleaner at the Blackbutt Hotel with a large knife and broke into a number of business at Anna Bay, Salt Ash and Jesmond, while other members of the group attempted to hold up a service station and stabbed a supermarket owner in the stomach during an armed robbery before they all became the target of Strike Force Conge detectives.
