A prolific burglar who stole £30,000 of clothes from a Flannels store in Southport made off with £80,000 in an “almost identical” robbery a year later.
John Bishop, 33, of HMP Hindley, formerly of Fazakerley, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday via video link after pleading guilty to one count of burglary. David Watson, prosecuting, detailed that on February 12, 2021, a member of the public saw at least three people, including Bishop, outside the Flannels store in Tulketh Street, Southport.
Between 8.30 and 9pm, the witness saw the group, all wearing dark clothing with their heads covered, using a grinder on a bollard outside the shop. Mr Watson said: “The offenders cut the locks from the bollards outside Flannels and then cut a square in the corner of the shutter.
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“They then reversed a Ford Kuga motor vehicle on three separate occasions, destroying first the shutter, then inner security bollards and finally a glass window.
“Four suspects then entered the store and stole significant quantities of high end clothing and loaded it into the Kuga and another vehicle.”
Just before midnight later that evening, an Audi A3 was stopped by police on Ince Lane, Blundell, where another male charged with this offence was arrested. Two other defendants have pleaded not guilty to robbery and are due to stand trial in December of this year.
Bishop was arrested on May 4 at his home address in Fazakerley, where a female Moncler coat and two Hugo Boss T-shirts still with Flannels tags were recovered. In a police interview, Bishop falsely claimed the T-shirts were bought from a car boot sale, but then refused to answer any further questions.
After analysis, cell site data from Bishop’s phone confirmed he was at the scene of the robbery at the time, and he was interviewed again where he answered no comment to all questions. In total, £30,578 worth of stock was stolen from the store, only part of which was recovered.
Further damage costs of £34,000 were incurred due to replacing the shopfront, shutter and bollards, and for interim security measures. Bishop has 32 convictions for 57 offences, including 10 for burglary or attempted burglary in both dwellings and non-dwelling properties.
Around a year after this offence, on March 21, 2022, Bishop, working with a gang, committed an “almost identical” crime, stealing £82,000 of property from a jewellery store using an angle grinder and motorbikes to gain entry. He was sentenced to 44 months imprisonment for that offence.
Frank Dillon, defending, conceded that this was “clearly a sophisticated and planned offence”, but highlighted that his client had pleaded guilty. He said Bishop’s priority was now his child, and spending time in custody has helped him to realise this.
Judge Gary Woodhall highlighted that the Flannels crime itself would have warranted a sentence of 45 months, but that he had to bear the principle of totality in mind when sentencing. Bishop was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment to be served consecutively to his current sentence.
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