Two men jailed for 17 years combined for robbery spree in Southampton and Eastleigh

Two men have been jailed today (Sept 20) for robbing businesses in Southampton in September 2017. 

Wayne Anthony Grant, aged 27, of Byron Road, Southampton and Connor Terrence Davis, aged 25, of no fixed address have been found guilty by a jury at Southampton Crown Court for robbing three stores nearly two years ago, following a complex police investigation.

Grant has been jailed for eight years and Davis was given a nine year sentence. 

The pair began the spree on September 26, 2017 at around 2am when they entered Chickenhall Service Station on Bishopstoke Road in Eastleigh wearing balaclavas and carrying a knife and extendible baton. They got the staff member on duty to hand over the contents of the till which amounted to £250, and by threatening violence they also helped themselves to 18 packets of cigarettes.

Next on their target list was Botley Petrol Station in Hedge End which they entered just half an hour later. Wearing masks again, they demanded staff hand over the contents of the till which was an undetermined amount of coins and notes.

The next day, on 27 September 2017, the pair decided to commit a further crime. This time, at 8.50pm, they entered Betfred on Aldermoor Road in Southampton. Again, one of them had a knife and the other an extendible baton. The men threatened staff and demanded money from the kiosk. Grant and Davis left the premises with £3000.

Following a trial at Southampton Crown Court, Grant and Davis were found guilty and sentenced to 17 years combined.

Grant and Davis thought they would be able to get away with their crimes, by simply covering their faces and wearing gloves. However, Detective Constable Sean Owens who was in charge of the investigations said: “Grant and Davis were identified through the recovery of clothing, an extendible baton and a carrier bag found the boot of a car of an associate of Grant.

“The clothing matched the clothing worn in the first two robberies and the carrier bag was forensically linked to the victim subjected the robbery at Chickenhall Service Station in Eastleigh. 

“Grant and Davis then treated themselves to a shopping spree with their ill-gotten gains at Gunwharf Quays. They were seen on CCTV paying for items with a lot of coins, which was circumstantially linked to the robbery at Botley Service Station.

“When Grant was arrested, his phone was seized and through analysis of that we were able to see that he had googled the location of the Betfred on Aldermoor Road before the robbery. We were also able to place both men in the local area when the robberies occurred.

“Lastly, the pair decided to spend nearly £400 of their so-called ‘earnings’ on clothes from JD Sports in Bournemouth, the proof of which came from a receipt seized at the time of their arrest.

“We know many people will think this investigation took a long time, but no matter how long it takes, we will always seek to get justice and ensure dangerous and greedy offenders like Grant and Davis are put before a court.

“These kind of incidents can have a huge emotional impact on the staff members, especially when Grant and Davis were carrying weapons and making demands. I can’t imagine the lasting impact this has, and this is why it so important we get justice for those caught up in this kind of violence and greed.

“We hope the sentence today reflects that.”