Ten jailed for Market Cross jeweller raids
Ten men have been jailed for their parts in the armed robberies of two Teesside jewellers.
The gang stole watches and diamond jewellery worth £637,000 from the Market Cross stores in Yarm and Middlesbrough in November 2014 and January last year.
All but one admitted their roles in the raids which saw staff threatened with weapons including a handgun.
An eleventh man was given a suspended sentence.
Police caught one of the gang, David Patmore, up a tree trying to destroy his mobile phone after he had led them on a 70mph pursuit in the dark with his car lights off.
With police surrounding him, he shouted: "I'll be down in a minute, I just don't want you to have my phone," Teesside Crown Court heard.
Patmore and another man, Shaun Booth, were also jailed for stealing high-end jewellery, including necklaces, rings and Rolex watches with a total value of around £1m, from Fattorini jewellers in Parliament Street in Harrogate in December 2014.
The following sentences were handed out to six men from Manchester who admitted conspiracy to commit robbery: Samuel Hughes, 29, was jailed for 12 years; David Patmore, 32, jailed for 19 years six months: Joseph Donovan, 25, jailed for 12 years: Jamie Scott, 28, jailed for 12 years: Liam Wright, 25, jailed for 10 years and Shaun Booth, 29, received 12 years eight months.
Two other men from Cleveland, Antony Northmore, 35, and Scott Northmore, 20, received 10 years and four years respectively.
Ian Ogden, 26, from Manchester, had denied two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery but was found guilty after a trial and jailed for seven years.
Billy Jo Thompson, 25, also from Manchester, was jailed for a year after admitting assisting an offender and possessing a prohibited weapon.
Christopher Worgan, 32, from Manchester, was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after admitting assisting an offender.
Speaking after sentencing, Det Chief Supt Peter McPhillips, from Cleveland Police, said: "Shockingly these robberies took place in broad daylight and involved innocent members of the public and staff being threatened with violence and weapons.
"In the case of the Yarm incident, these weapons included axes and a handgun.
"Staff showed great bravery in the immediate aftermath of the robberies and as the investigation progressed the help they gave police was invaluable.
"Some of them were badly affected by what happened and I hope today's sentences will reassure them that the people responsible face a lengthy time behind bars."