A thug waved a machete at a pregnant woman while his partner stood guard in a brutal robbery in north Liverpool.
Paul Otty threatened the worker in an off licence of Rocky Lane in Tuebrook less than an hour after doing a similar thing at another shop on Lower Breck Road.
He and Christina Evans were stopped during that robbery by a shop worker and only managed to steal a bottle of alcohol rather than the cash they were hoping for.
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Liverpool Crown Court heard today that Otty spearheaded the robberies while Evans supported him by keeping a look out.
Jonathan Rogers, prosecuting, told Evans’ sentencing hearing this morning that Otty led the robbery on May 14, with the pair first targeting the Superbooze on Lower Breck Road.
He said Otty, 38, went into the shop with his face covered up and wielded a machete at the worker behind the counter.
However, the worker managed to fight them off and the pair only managed to steal a bottle of brandy.
A short while later they targeted another business on nearby Rocky Lane.
That robbery followed a similar pattern to the first, however this time the worker behind the till was a woman who was seven and a half months pregnant.
Mr Rogers said: “The shop was being worked in by the owner who was 32 months pregnant.
“She describes how the man came in and threatened her with a machete.”
While Otty threatened her Evans stood to the side and tried to dissuade the woman’s brother and partner, who both worked in the shop, from helping her.
Again, this robbery ended fairly unsuccessfully, with the pair only stealing a mobile phone.
Otty and Evans then ran off to their home on Scorton Road.
Evans was found by police there and was arrested while Otty escaped through a window earlier and was arrested later on.
Evans, 43, denied robbery in the magistrates court but later pleaded guilty. The court heard she also provided crucial evidence to the court identifying Otty as a fellow perpetrator.
His face was fully covered so it was harder for police to identify him. He was set to go on trial this week but a judge said today that evidence provided by Evans was likely a key factor in him changing his plea to guilty.
Ken Heckle, defending Evans, said a traumatic event in her life had caused her to spiral into addiction and that this was the root cause of her extensive criminal record.
He said: “She is now 43 years of age. Perhaps this is a classic case that when someone goes in drink and drugs those illnesses and addictions become a spectre on their reputations.”
Mr Heckle said Evans was deeply remorseful and had cooperated fully with police, giving officers crucial evidence for their case against Otty.
The judge, Recorder Simon Killeen, told Evans he accepted she was not “the primary mover” in the robbery and that her evidence was crucial.
However, he said her jail term still had to reflect the alarming nature of the robbery.
Recorder Killeen said: “The reality is that this must have been absolutely terrifying for everyone concerned.
“A seven and a half months pregnant woman is left facing a machete in a shop while her brother and partner are dissuaded from doing much to assist.”
Evans, of Scorton Road, was jailed for three years today.
Otty, also of Scorton Road, was jailed for seven years on Monday.
