A Paisley thug who committed a “cowardly attack” on a shopkeeper during a terrifying Boxing Day raid has been jailed.
Christopher Holland, 34, and another male attempted to raid the till at the Best-one store on St James’ Street in the town at 10.30am on December 26 last year. The brute, described as a prisoner of Low Moss jail, East Dunbartonshire, admitted threatening shop owner Zeeshan Saeed; pinning him to a chair, repeatedly punching his face, holding him in a headlock and stealing £50 worth of cigarettes.
At Paisley Sheriff Court, Sheriff Bruce Erroch KC slammed the 34-year-old’s thuggish behaviour stating: “This was a cowardly attack on a man providing a public service. There was an element of planning, you weren’t acting alone. You had taken heroin the night before and you are assessed as having the capacity to cause serious harm and that is of concern to the court.”
Prosecutor David Gallagher previously explained the shop is an off-sales newsagents and internal CCTV captured the entire incident. He also explained Mr Saeed has been the owner of the shop for the last four years. Mr Gallagher revealed: “Mr Saeed opened the store as normal around 9.30am.
Around 10.30am, the accused and another male attended at the front door of the shop and peered through the glass door. Saeed was seated behind the counter within and observed Holland enter the store. Holland was wearing a black face mask and a green jacket with his hood up.
“The accused entered the till area through an unlocked door and punched Saeed to the face twice with his right hand while holding Saeed on the jacket with his left hand and then pinned him to the chair while holding him in a headlock. The other male then entered the store and entered behind the till area while Holland tried to open the till using the function on the till computer.
“Holland, as observed on CCTV, can be seen to have a tattoo on his right hand and another on his right forearm. Saeed was then told to open the till repeatedly. Holland then punched Saeed again and the accused and the other male held Saeed down on the chair.
"The other male then grabbed a polo packet from the shelving unit and scanned the barcode attempting to open the till drawer however this was unsuccessful.” The court heard Mr Saeed managed to press the panic button and he told Holland that cops had been alerted.
Mr Gallagher added: “While both men were pinning Saeed down, the other male opened the drawer underneath the till and removed four cartons of Player Superkings cigarettes with a total value of £50. Both males made off and Saeed awaited for police arrival.”
The court was told police received information that the male responsible was the brother of a man who had robbed the shop on a previous occasion in October 2019 – and. on December 28, Holland was traced at a property in Brown Street. Mr Gallagher added: “Holland attended at the door and officers immediately identified the jacket worn by Holland as the same worn by the suspect in the CCTV.
“Holland was placed under arrest and taken to Greenock police station. While in a holding cell, Holland freely stated, ‘I know I’m bang to rights. It was 100 per cent not Aaron that was with me, I can tell you that. You won’t know the guy, he’s not from here, he’s from London.’
“Holland also stated, ‘You know it was f*****g me, you’re not stupid, I’m wearing the f*****g jacket and I have the joggers on under my jeans, I’m bang to rights.’ The accused was interviewed, replied ‘no comment’ to caution and charge and was held in custody to appear in this court.”
Defence agent Tony Bolland explained how Holland was “introduced to violence at a young age in the family setting.” Mr Bolland added: “At the age of 16, after serving time with the cadets, he joined the army and wished to pursue a career there. However, he was medically discharged at 19 and he felt at a loss and in solace, he turned to drugs and that lies at the root of this man’s offending.
“At this time, he was spending any money he got on drugs, and heroin in particular and this is what’s caused him to act in this way. He has asked me to express his remorse and his sincere apologies. He understands the seriousness here and the extent of his conduct.” Sheriff Bruce Erroch KC jailed Holland for 48 months, reduced to 32 months backdated to his date of remand on December 29. In addition, Sheriff Erroch KC made Holland subject to a 12-month supervised release order upon his liberation.
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