Armed robber jailed for 11-and-a-half years for Fenton raid

A BURGLAR who forced his way into a house and threatened a 15-year-old boy with a knife has been jailed for 11-and-a-half years.

Mathias Lescott, right, whose previous convictions include manslaughter, denied the aggravated burglary but was convicted after a trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court in January.

The 29-year-old did, however, pleaded guilty to an earlier robbery, when he used a knife to threaten a shop worker.

Prosecutor Fiona Cortese said Lescott knocked on the door of a house in Fenton on June 15 last year and asked the 15-year-old lad who answered if his parents were at home.

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When the boy said they weren't, Lescott forced his way in. He produced a Stanley knife and threatened the lad, telling him he was going to be robbed.

He then picked up a pillow case and walked round the house filling it with electrical goods including a games console, laptop and camera.

Lescott told the terrified victim not to tell anyone but the youngster raised the alarm when a postman came to the address.

The defendant was traced through a footprint left at the house.

Miss Cortese said several weeks earlier, on May 25, Lescott committed a robbery at Speedy Cash in The Strand, Longton.

He went in the shop just before 1pm when no-one else was in but Daniel Beech.

"He browsed around," said Miss Cortese.

"He was wearing leather gloves. After a minute he put his hood over his head and made towards Mr Beech.

"He had a small knife in his hand and told Mr Beech to put a PlayStation and till in a bag.

"He grabbed Mr Beech by his T-shirt and pulled him to the cabinet displaying telephones and told him to take them out. Mr Beech gave him four mobile phones.

"The defendant said: 'No police otherwise I will kill you, I know where you live'."

Mr Beech was scared and believed he would be hurt, the court heard.

Steven Redmond, mitigating, said Lescott, of Sandon Road, Meir, never intended to use the knives and no violence was used. He said the defendant did well after being released from his manslaughter sentence in 2007 but 'stupidly' fell into a temptation to dabble with drugs.

Mr Redmond said: "He became addicted and indebted to people who wanted their money. His life became a complete mess."

Judge David Fletcher said although Lescott was involved in a manslaughter he was not directly involved in causing the death and the judge did not consider him to be a dangerous offender. But he said the knife was produced during the robbery and the victim of the aggravated burglary was caused significant trauma, violence was threatened and Lescott produced the knife.