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CAT BURGLAR
Gulf War veteran jailed after carrying out armed robbery then sprinting off to buy cat food in hope it would be an alibi
The judge said his defence case was 'almost laughable' because his claims were so bad
A GULF War veteran has been jailed for eight years after he was caught on camera carrying out an armed robbery - before rushing off to buy CAT FOOD in the hope it would work as an alibi.
CCTV showed Anthony Journet walking into a Co-op store and waving a fake gun around and threatening staff, before going behind the counter and demanding the till be opened.
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The 47-year-old made off from the store, in Clanfield, Hampshire, with £200 in cash and cigarettes.
The court heard he then ditched his balaclava, changed clothes and dashed to another Co-Op to buy cat food, keeping the receipt in a bid to create an alibi for himself.
During the robbery, Journet, who was a soldier in the first Gulf War in Iraq before leaving the army in 1994, wore a balaclava, hat, gloves and high-vis vest, leaving no fingerprints or DNA at the scene.
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But when cops turned up at his home on May 29 this year – 17 days after the raid – they found a spray-painted black imitation gun, boots with adapted soles to make the wearer look shorter, a holdall and gloves.
When quizzed, Journet, of Havant, Hampshire, claimed he found the toy handgun in his loft and was spraying it to make it look more realistic for the young children he planned to give it to.
Addressing him, judge Sarah Munro QC said: "Your explanation for your possession of all those items was almost laughable."
Judge Munro said Journet slipped up when detectives questioned him, as he gave detailed descriptions of what he was wearing on the night of the robbery – one that, by his claims, would not have been memorable.
The court heard Journet raided the shop and then drove home, before changing clothes and driving to a Boots store in Havant to buy painkillers and then a different Co-op to the one he robbed to get cat food.
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He had kept the receipt in a bid to create a false alibi for the robbery, which he committed just before 10pm.
Journet even told detectives: "My mum used to work at the Co-op and they were good to her so I would not rob a Co-op."
However, his red Nissan Micra matched the one seen driving off after the robbery.
Hugh French, defending, said his client's actions had been triggered by the 25-year anniversary of the Gulf War – but judge Munro said she failed to see the connection between post-traumatic stress disorder and him robbing shops.
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Journet, who has previously committed four armed robberies, was found guilty of robbery and possession of a firearm with intent following a six-day trial.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Hamish Walker, from Hampshire Police, said the crime had affected the shop staff greatly.
He added: "This was a serious and premeditated offence with a significant effect on the three young men working."
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