Google MapsA robber who threatened a shop worker with a syringe during a terrifying raid has been jailed for four years.
Gary McCrimmon demanded a shop worker open the till and yelled at him: “Do you want to f*****g die?”.
McCrimmon eventually used a pair of scissors to pry it open, taking £200 of cash and some stamps.
But, the shop worker – despite the repeated threats – managed to pin the 50-year-old to the ground and alert a passing jogger for help.
McCrimmon, who already had a long criminal past and was on bail at the time, admitted to the assault and robbery at the Gallowhill Licensed Grocers in Paisley on November 15, 2023.
Prosecutor Eilidh Robertson told the High Court in Glasgow that the worker was alone when McCrimmon was captured on CCTV entering around 6.45am.
He brandished the syringe, which had no needle in it.
Ms Robertson said: “He repeatedly threatened to stab [the shop worker] and shouted: ‘Do you want hepatitis and HIV?’.”
The worker initially dodged McCrimmon and shoved a large ice cream freezer to try to block him.
McCrimmon, however, forced entry to the till area and struck the shop worker on the neck and chest with the syringe.
He was soon able to get his hands on the cash.
There was then “a violent struggle” between the men as McCrimmon continued to lash out.
Ms Robertson said: “[The worker] was ultimately able to move him towards the door and restrain him on the ground.
“McCrimmon shouted threats saying: ‘I will f*****g stab you, you c***. I will come again’.”
After getting the female jogger to call the police, officers arrested McCrimmon at the shop.
The staff member was said to be “extremely emotional and shaken up”, and he had to go to hospital for chest pain.
The man later stated to police he had been “very frightened” during the incident.
The court heard McCrimmon was previously guilty of robbery in 1997.
He had racked up seven more convictions since the raid in Paisley, including housebreaking and breaching bail.
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