A prolific robber who targeted a Halifax bank and local post office pointed an imitation gun at staff, a court heard.
Adam Gilbert, 37, of no fixed abode, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to two counts of robbery and two counts of possessing an imitation firearm on September 9 last year. Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, detailed that on May 30 last year, customer service assistant Nicola Craggs was on shift at the Halifax branch in Bootle Strand shopping centre at around midday.
She was working alongside her colleagues Sharon McGrady and Emma Hunter who were on the tills beside her, all with individual perspective screens in between them and a customer. At around 12.20pm, Gilbert entered and joined the queue, where he waited for around one minute before being called up to Ms Cragg’s counter.
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CCTV footage shown in court displayed Gilbert wearing black, with a hood on over his head and a black snood covering the lower part of his face. He was also holding a rucksack and a carrier bag.
Ms Craggs knew the defendant as he was a customer of the bank and she had helped him with internet banking issues several times earlier, so recognised him immediately. As soon as he reached the counter, he withdrew the pistol from the bag and with his other hand he reached around and slung the carrier bag onto the desk.
He then held the pistol with both hands but kept it close to his stomach, and the victim said she believed it was real. He said: “Nicky I mean it, put the money in the bag or I will shoot.”
Ms McGrady, who had been on the customer side of the store, walked past Gilbert to get behind the counter and noticed the gun, so went to Ms Hunter who was seated further down and told her what was happening. Ms Hunter then activated the panic alarm.
Ms Craggs attempted to show Gilbert there was no money at her counter by opening the small till, but he threatened to shoot and moved around the side of the till to get behind the counter. Gilbert also tried to remove the safety catch on the gun, at which point Ms Cragg, her two colleagues and the store customers ran to the exit.
During the robbery, Gilbert let off one shot at the ceiling which misfired, before shooting again, causing a loud bang and a flash, adding to the victim’s terror. He ran behind the counter to try Ms Hunter’s till but was unable to open it, so followed the victims out of the store and escaped the scene on his bike with nothing.
CCTV footage showed that among those fleeing the bank were a child and an elderly person walking slowly with a trolley to assist her. Police arrived at the scene but were unable to locate Gilbert.
Two days later on June 1, Gilbert struck again at a post office in Netherton at around 3.15pm. CCTV footage showed the defendant wearing similar black clothing, waiting in line for around 30 seconds before arriving at the counter manned by Carly King.
He produced the pistol, put a carrier bag down on the counter in front of Ms King, who was seven months pregnant at the time, and said: “Give me the money, put it in there”. Katrina Lam, who also worked at the post office, was at the customer service side of the store and witnessed the attempted robbery.
One of the women called out to the postmaster, Philip Lewis, who was taking a break in a different area not visible to customers. He stepped out of the area believing he was just being asked a query by staff, but soon saw Gilbert reaching over the counter holding a gun and a plastic carrier bag.
Gilbert stepped back as Mr Lewis appeared, before the postmaster slowly closed the till, meaning it could only be reopened with a key, and told him it could not be accessed. Mr Lewis said his first impression was that the gun was fake.
Gilbert responded by saying “give me the money I will shoot”, and reached back to reload causing a cartridge to fall onto the counter. During this, Mr Lewis activated the alarm, and Gilbert pointed the weapon at his head in anger that no money was forthcoming.
He also swept his own hood off, revealing more of his face, before realising his mistake and pulling it back up. Mr Blasbery said: “He appeared to realise it was all locked and the alarm was going off, so ran out of the store, and yet again left empty handed.”
Police reviewed the CCTV footage, and one officer immediately recognised Gilbert from having dealt with him previously for similar offences of robbery with a weapon. Around two and a half hours after the post office attempted robbery, officers spotted Gilbert on Marsh Lane in Bootle and followed him down Litherland Road before detaining him.
He responded, “you’ve got me”, and told officers he had a gun in his backpack but said it was just a blank firer. The bag was described as a “man bag”, containing the pistol handle and numerous rounds of ammunition of nine millimetre blanks.
Gilbert was arrested, taken into custody and interviewed the next day, where he initially said it was not him and he’d just taken medication before this. Shortly after, he said: “I give up lad I can’t be arsed running no more”.
He then called one of the officers “weird”, and said he no longer wanted to talk and tried to leave the room. The interview was terminated as he said he would not speak without getting medication.
Officers tried again several times, but Gilbert “covered himself head to toe” with his blanket and refused to be interviewed further. The gun was looked at by a specialist firearms officer and determined to be an imitation firearm capable of firing nine millimetre blank cartridges.
Gilbert was identified by two of the victims during an identity parade, and charged. Victim personal statements provided by the victims were read in court by the prosecution, and detailed that all three victims of the Halifax attempted robbery have all since received medication because of the incident.
Ms Craggs, Ms Hunter and Ms McGrady all said they thought they “were going to die”, and have all had to undertake counselling. Ms King and Ms Lam both returned to work four days after the incident, but feel scared and concerned they might see him again.
Gilbert has 21 previous convictions for 42 offences, including for robbery at knifepoint in 2008 for which he served a five year sentence, and one count of robbery and another of attempted robbery in 2013. In February 2022, he received a community order for possession offences, which he breached by committing these crimes.
Julian Nutter, defending said: “He is ashamed of himself for these actions that he carried out and he wishes to apologise to the victim’s of his crimes. “He was in the process of getting his affairs together to commit suicide.
“He was robbing them to pay for his own funeral, this was the final culmination of someone at the breakdown of his life.” He added: “However bad and wicked he was, he did not take with him a weapon that was capable of causing serious harm.”
His Honour Judge Stuart Driver KC said: “Before committing these offences you obtained and armed yourself with an imitation firearm and some number of blank cartridges which it was capable of firing. “You knew that by firing them you would create a realistic noise and flash that could cause terror to anyone nearby.”
He added: “You were clearly in a desperate state at the time and planning your own suicide. “I am satisfied you are a dangerous offender, this is your third set of serious robberies committed with weapons.”
Gilbert was sentenced to ten and a half years imprisonment, plus an extended licence of 5 years, totalling 15 and a half years. A restraining order barring him from contacting the victims and from visiting either the Halifax branch or the post office was implemented until further order.
A deprivation order in relation to the gun and ammunition was ordered and a victim surcharge applies.
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