A shopkeeper bravely stood up to a knife-wielding robber who demanded cash but was told: "I don't have that kind of money." Nicole Johnson brandished a huge knife during the raid at Leon's Pricewise, Radford Road, between Radford and Forest Fields.
But the worker stood her ground - even holding a chair up to defend herself as Johnson stabbed out with the menacing blade on June 29 this year. Despite Johnson stopping her from pressing the panic alarm or calling police, the woman refused to give in to her demands.
Johnson managed to open the till herself and grab cash and bottles of booze before escaping. The worker did not give up there - flagging down a passing police car and pointing out 21-year-old Johnson, of Trowell Road, Wollaton.
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"But, for whatever reason, the police were unable to locate the defendant on the day - but she was arrested two days later, on June 30," said Alan Murphy, prosecuting, on Monday (November 28).
Her victim thought she was going to be killed. She suffered cuts to her fingers in the knife struggle, and described how she had never encountered anything like that before, the court was told.
She believed she was preyed upon because she was alone in the shop where she has worked for 40 years. Aged 62, she said the incident left her aching the following day, she struggled to raise her right arm and needed support from a colleague to reach items in the shop.
Her right thigh was bruised and the whole right side of her body sore to touch. The woman helps customers with writing letters, and with health and emotional support.
She also assists the homeless, does charity work, and did not know why Johnson did not ask for support - as she would have helped her. Recorder Carter gave her a commendation for her bravery and a £300 award after she faced Johnson - who has eight convictions for 21 offences, including a shop theft where she had a Stanley knife with her.
In March 2020, at Nottingham Crown Court, Johnson was sent to youth custody for 18 months for robbery and two offences of possessing a bladed article after a knife-point robbery on a woman withdrawing money from a cash machine outside a shop in Radford at around 10.40pm on December 27, 2019.
Mitigating, David Watts said Johnson was deeply remorseful after the latest robbery against a background of drugs. His client, who pleaded guilty, received four years and eight months in prison for robbery, and one year and one month concurrently for possessing the knife. She is likely to serve two-thirds before he release on licence.
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