Harrogate Montpellier Antiques sledgehammer robber given 12 years
A man who smashed his way into an antiques shop with a sledgehammer and stole jewellery and watches has been jailed for 12 years for robbery.
Ryan Luke Stanley, of Firefly Close, Salford, was given an eight-year sentence with a four-year extension at Manchester Crown Court.
Stanley, 24, attacked Montpellier Antiques in Harrogate on 16 March 2015.
He admitted possessing an offensive weapon, was ordered to pay £120 victim surcharge and forfeit the hammer.
Stanley and four other men who were with him at the time of the robbery, left the shop in a stolen Lexus which was later found abandoned nearby.
Det Insp Nichola Holden, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "This was an extremely frightening experience for the staff and customers who were in the shop on the day of the robbery."
An extended sentence is given to an offender aged 18 or over when the person is guilty of a specified violent or sexual offence or the court assesses the offender as a significant risk to the public of committing further specified offences.
Extended sentences can also be handed down where a sentence of imprisonment for life is not available or justified; and the offender has a previous conviction for a specific offence.