A drug addict who helped a knife-wielding robber to steal booze, cigarettes and scratch cards from a shop has been locked up.
Shawna Kelly stuffed the stolen goods into a bag as her co-accused held a knife to the Shildon shop worker's stomach.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Michael Dent was the main instigator of the robbery of the Lifestyle Express store in Shildon on October 15 last year.
Tabitha Buck, prosecuting, said the shop worker, Gnanavel Sivakaran, bravely disarmed Kelly’s co-accused before they both fled the scene.
She said balaclava-wearing Dent threatened the worker and ordered him to open the till before Kelly started filling her bag with stolen goods.
“Dent tried to open the till, but when he could not, he tried to remove the entire till drawer,” she said.
“To Mr Sivakaran’s credit he struck the knife from Dent using a piece of cardboard which caused him to drop the knife. He started to shout and the defendant and Mr Dent ran out of the door.”
In a victim impact statement, Mr Sivakaran said the robbery had left him feeling panicked and scared about the knife.
The defendant has 15 convictions for 39 offences, including 21 offences for theft and similar matters.
Kelly, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a bladed article on October 15 last year.
The 34-year-old told the judge that she had "deep regret" over her behaviour and admitted she was under the influence of alcohol at the time, but accepted that "was no excuse".
Antonia Adie, mitigating, said her client had been placed in Shildon when she was released from her previous prison sentence and fell in with the wrong people before starting to drink and take heroin.
She added: “The remorse expressed in her letter is genuine remorse – she is truly ashamed of herself.
“She extended her apologies to the shop worker, appreciating just how scary it must have been for him.”
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Recorder Ayesha Smart sentenced Kelly to 30 months in prison for her role in the armed robbery.
She said: “Whilst he (Dent) threatened to stab the cashier, you proceeded to fill your bag with alcohol and scratch cards.
“Clearly, that would have been a scary incident for him – a knife being brandished, albeit you didn’t do the threatening yourself.”
Kelly’s co-accused, Dent was found guilty following a trial and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail when he appeared before Durham Crown Court in December last year.
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