An Usk shop manager helped stage a robbery with her boyfriend and a teenage accomplice, telling police the armed pair had robbed the store she managed of thousands of pounds. ??Michelle Williams, 34, told police that two men had burst into the One Stop Shop in a 6am raid in February last year.

She told officers that a man armed with a crowbar, and a younger man tooled with a knife, grabbed her from behind, and threatened a co-worker with violence before running off with £2,700.

A police investigation found the robber duo to be connected to Williams, the shift manager at the Usk store, later exposing the robbery to have been planned between Williams, her partner Benjamin Bailey, 37, and a 17-year-old Abergavenny youth. ??Bailey, from Little Mill, alongside the 17-year-old, pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court to robbery.

Last week, Williams received 4 years and six months in jail, whilst Bailey was locked up for six years. The youth, who cannot be named, was handed a 18 month detention and training order.

 

Detective Sergeant Matthew Edwards, who led the investigation for Gwent Police, said, “This was a terrifying and distressing experience for the true victim involved.

“Michelle Williams, who was employed at the shop, showed a flagrant disregard for the safety, welfare and trust of her work colleague by planning and allowing this robbery to take place. Michelle, together with her partner Ben Bailey, and another, executed the robbery and attempted to mislead the investigation by purporting to be a victim herself.  This was a unique and challenging investigation in order to prove the involvement of all three people.

 

“Detective Constable David Hancocke was methodical in conducting the investigation which was evident by all three defendants pleading guilty at the first available opportunity. We hope that today’s sentence will offer some closure and peace of mind to those affected, and proves we will relentlessly pursue and bring to justice those who commit crime in Gwent.”