A SHOPKEEPER who feared she was going to be shot dead in an armed hold-up for which a man is starting a five year jail sentence is now too scared to work alone.

Seema Dhutti bravely faced down gun-wielding Lee Roberts, telling him she had no cash and refusing to open the till, causing him to flee empty handed.

The Northern Echo:

JAILED: Lee Roberts who threatened shopkeeper Seema Dhutti with a gun during an armed robbery at Seema News in Darlington
 

Her husband, Varinder Dhutti, told The Northern Echo his wife no longer worked in their Darlington shop on an evening because of the incident and would only work morning shifts if she had someone with her.

Roberts, who has 146 criminal offences on his record, was immediately identified from CCTV footage following the raid on Seema News and Off Licence, on the corner of North Road and Cumberland Street at about 7.45pm on July 23.

The 36-year-old drug addict, of Eldon Street, Darlington, admitted charges of attempted robbery and possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was jailed for five years at Teesside Crown Court.

But Mr Dhutti, a former baggage supervisor at Heathrow Airport, who runs the business with his wife, said five years for the gunman was not enough, especially with his criminal record.

He said: “I’m not happy with five years. He will come out after two and-a-half and everybody else will be thinking ‘let’s do the same’.

“On the day this happened, we thought about selling up and moving to London, but it will be just the same there. Everywhere there are good people and bad people.”

The Northern Echo:

RAID: Seema News and Off-Licence, on the corner of North Road and Cumberland Street, Darlington.

In a victim impact statement, Mrs Dhutti, 25, said: “I really thought he was going to shoot me. Every time a customer comes in the shop, I get scared, not knowing what’s going to happen.

“I no longer work evening shifts. I am far too nervous and cannot face that shift again.”

The Northern Echo:

PRAISE: Seema Dhutti's husband Varinder, pictured behind the store counter, has thanked police and customers for their support. Picture: STUART ARNOLD

Her husband said he’d lost an income he received from working as a part time courier as he had to make up Mrs Dhutti’s hours.

He said: “I’m proud of her, she did not give him any money. But she was shaking afterwards and it is still affecting her.

“She’s not the same person she was before.”

The 30-year-old praised police for a “really good job” and said he was thankful his uncle, Bhupinder Singh, who runs another convenience store in the town had been able to come and sit with his wife following the attempted armed robbery as he had been travelling back up from London.

He also said the couple had received many cards, flowers and chocolates from customers sympathetic of their plight.

The shop had now upgraded its security measures to include more extensive CCTV and wireless panic buttons.

The court heard that a masked Roberts produced the realistic looking weapon – later found to be a ball-bearing gun – and pointed it at Mrs Dhutti’s head, demanding: “Give me the f***ing money”.

Mrs Dhutti pressed a panic alarm, warning him the police would be on their way and he fled after causing some damage, said prosecutor Rachel Masters.

The Northern Echo:

LOITERING: Lee Roberts, captured on CCTV loitering outside the store shortly before the incident.

Roberts’ lawyer Zoe Passfield said he was in debt to drug dealers who threatened to have him “cut up”.

She said: “He expresses genuine remorse for his actions.

“He had reached the point of absolute despair.”

Following the incident a text message to Roberts’ mother – ironically also a shop-worker – was found on his mobile phone which said: “What if it was you behind the counter? I don’t want to do another one and hurt someone.”

He had previously been barred from the shop, along with his girlfriend Lucy Brack, for suspected shoplifting.

Brack, 26, who was also charged following the attempted robbery, had her case discontinued after a review by senior prosecutors.

They had been involved together in a street mugging which led Roberts to receive a nine month prisons sentence in 2012.

Judge Tony Briggs told Roberts: “This must been a perfectly terrifying experience.

“She [Mrs Dhutti] thought she was in danger of being killed, but she bravely refused to hand over the money you wanted.

“The real evil of this offence is the effect on her feelings of wellbeing, safety and confidence to carry on the valuable job of serving the community.”