A FIFTH man involved in a violent robbery which left the homeowner with stab wounds has been jailed for more than 13 years.

The sentencing brings the total jail term for all five defendants to more than 73 years after the gang of five smashed their way into the Knaresborough home in May 2015.

Jonathan Bennett, 24, of Harrogate, was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court after being found guilty of conspiracy to rob. Bennett is already serving a prison sentence of 32 months handed down last month for conspiracy to commit burglary following a burglary in Fewston, near Harrogate, in November 2014.

His four accomplices involved in the robbery, all from Leeds, were sentenced on September 30, and include Joel Richard Hutchinson, 30, and Lewis Jordan Walker, 29, who were both sentenced to 13 years and seven months imprisonment; Jason Henriques 25, and Shelby Bruce, 24, who were both sentenced to 16 years imprisonment.

Hutchinson and Walker had pleaded guilty at the start of the trial on Tuesday, September 20.

Bruce was given an additional year in prison after punching a co-defendant in court and Walker received an extra four months for spitting at another gang member during the proceedings.

Bennett was one of the organisers of the robbery which left a man with serious stab wounds.

On the night of May 14, 2015, three men – Walker, Bruce and Henriques – entered a house on Lands Lane, Knaresborough, by throwing a boulder through a downstairs window.

They confronted and attacked the home owners, a man in his 40s and a woman in her 30s, who were upstairs, and demanded they handed over jewellery.

The man fought back and was stabbed in his leg, arm, face and hand, suffering deep cuts which needed extensive hospital treatment. They also grabbed his wife by the hair and threatened her before fleeing the house with a substantial amount of jewellery.

Following the police investigation which involved protracted analysis of mobile phones, Automatic Number Plate Recognition images and CCTV, the five offenders were arrested in the months following the robbery.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Ellis said: “Bennett’s imprisonment brings the legal proceedings to a conclusion in this shocking case and I sincerely hope that it brings some kind of closure for the victims who were left terrified by these vicious and violent men.

"I also hope the residents of Knaresborough are reassured that the men who brought terror to their neighbourhood are now behind bars for a very long time.”

Judge Robert Bartfield previously commended the victims for their bravery, and the investigation team for their professionalism, noting the key role played by modern technology in tracking the defendants.