Oldham burglars jailed for pointing gun at elderly couple in their bed
Three burglars who pointed a gun at an elderly couple as they lay in bed at their home have been jailed.
Wearing balaclavas and armed with a revolver, Oldham men Nathan Riley, Paul Boyce and Elliott Howells broke into the couple's house in Ripponden Road.
They demanded cash and threatened to shoot the 75-year-old husband before fleeing with only a watch, police said.
The men were jailed for between six and eight years at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court.
The court heard the men were arrested after they were traced to a house in nearby Sholver Hill Close, where they were hiding in the loft.
Their weapon was never recovered, Greater Manchester Police said.
Riley, 19, of Longfellow Crescent, Oldham was also convicted of carrying out another gunpoint robbery at a nearby convenience store just hours earlier.
He was jailed for six years and eight months after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary, robbery and possession of an imitation firearm.
Fellow Oldham men Boyce, 28, of Mardale Close, and Howells, 23, of Mackenzie Walk, both admitted aggravated burglary for their part in the raid on the couple's home, which happened on 23 September 2014.
They were jailed for seven-and-a-half and eight years respectively.
Det Con Kate Dawson said: "It is unthinkable to be awoken in your own bed and confronted by masked intruders pointing a gun at you and threatening to shoot you.
"Thankfully, they were not injured and the three cowards responsible have been unmasked and thrown in jail for a long time."