Man jailed for knife raid on Fife off licence

A man who threatened a Burntisland newsagent and off licence trader with a knife before robbing him has been sentenced to 26 months in prison.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff CourtKirkcaldy Sheriff Court
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court

During the robbery the shopkeeper picked up a bottle of whisky to defend himself before managing to activate an alarm.

At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Tuesday Alex Forbes (38), a prisoner in Glenochil, admitted assaulting Jatinder Singh, brandishing a knife at him, demanding money and cigarettes and robbing him of a sum of money at Jaesy’s off licence in Cromwell Road on February 8.

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The court heard that the accused entered the shop at 7.10pm demanding cigarettes and money and holding a knife at chest height. He was wearing a waterproof jacket with the hood up and a balaclava underneath.

Mr Singh tried to go behind the counter but the accused stepped in front of him. When told the till was open he grabbed a handful of notes and cigarettes and put them in his bag.

The door blew open and Mr Sing grabbed the bottle to protect himself and pushed the alarm. Forbes panicked and rode off on a bike with a red light under the seat.

Police obtained CCTV images of the accused on the bike and Mr Singh identified his clothing and bike.

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They went to his address and carried out a search, finding his jacket, balaclava and rucksack.

Defence solicitor Mark Maguire said Forbes was serving a custodial sentence of 31 months imposed in March. He said he had done it to repay a drug debt after developing an addiction to diamorphine.

Sheriff Jamie Gilchrist said the sentence would begin after his current one.