Man jailed for series of robberies in Fareham

A man has been jailed following an investigation into a series of robberies in Fareham.

Ben Sharpe, aged 22, of no fixed abode, carried out the offences on the evening of 15 September this year.

Shortly after 7pm, Sharpe entered the Spar store on Arundel Drive and tried to snatch the till, pushing a member of staff in the process. He then made off with a bottle of Jack Daniels whisky and some pink gin.

At around 8pm, Sharpe entered the Esso petrol station on Gosport Road and threatened a member of staff whilst holding the whisky bottle. During this, he demanded that the member of staff open the till before grabbing the staff member and trying to open the till himself.

He left the petrol station having stolen nothing.

Around 15 minutes later, Sharpe entered the One Stop store on Gosport Road, again threatening a staff member with the whisky bottle whilst demanding money and cigarettes. He then stole some Kopparberg cider.

Officers arrested Sharpe less than 10 minutes later, and he was subsequently charged with attempted robbery, two counts of robbery and possession of cannabis.

Following his arrest, Sharpe was also recalled to prison to serve the remainder of a 5 year sentence, which was handed to him on 1 April 2020 for a shop robbery in Romsey.

Appearing at Winchester Crown Court on Friday 18 November, he was jailed for 32 months for these recent Fareham offences, which he had pleaded guilty to at an earlier hearing on 17 October.

DC Ellie Light said: “This is a positive result following an investigation into multiple robberies in local shops.

“During this, members of the public were threatened and physically assaulted. These victims were targeted whilst at work and going about their day to day lives.

“We commend these victims for coming forward and assisting the police in this investigation.”