Bungling ‘armed’ robber caught after leaving cigarette with his DNA at the scene of Sutton raid

David Lafferty was wearing a black bin bag over his face to try to hide his identity when he charged into Huthwaite Service Station, Huthwaite Road, Huthwaite, and demanded cash.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that, while shielding an unknown object that staff thought was a gun, Lafferty forced a staff member to empty the contents of the till into a bag he was carrying.

After filling the bag with about £400, including the coins from the till, the masked robber ran out the door and tripped over – dropping change all over the petrol station forecourt.

Lafferty then got up and fled in the direction of Lammas Road, discarding his makeshift mask as he did so.

The bin bag was later recovered by police, as was a cigarette butt found at the petrol station, close to where CCTV showed the robbery suspect as having a smoke right before the incident on February 2, 2020.

Following extensive inquiries, Lafferty was identified as a potential suspect by a distinctive tattoo on his hand that bore some similarities to one described as being on the hand of the masked robber.

The 43-year-old – formerly of Layton Burroughs, Mansfield, and Bentinck Street, Sutton – was later charged with robbery after forensic experts found traces of his DNA on both the bin bag and the cigarette butt found at the scene of the crime.

Having initially denied any involvement, Lafferty, of HMP Ranby, eventually admitted robbery and has now been jailed for four years and six months.

Detective Constable Adam Penn, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Lafferty showed a complete disregard for the law when he made the decision to rob a petrol station and take cash that didn’t belong to him.

“By making it seem like he had a gun in his possession throughout, he put the staff member he targeted through an incredibly scary ordeal and left them feeling their life was in genuine danger.

“This sentencing should serve as a warning to anyone else thinking of carrying out a robbery just how seriously we take reports of this nature and the kind of punishment that could await them.”