A man who admitted carrying out a number of armed robberies across West London has been sentenced to 8 years in prison.

Jackson John Docherty, aged 45, of no fixed abode but formerly of 26 Boston Road, Hanwell, W7, had pleaded guilty to ten armed robberies and nine firearms offences at Harrow Crown Court last month.

DCI Jeffrey Davies from the Flying squad said "This sentence is the result of the excellent work of Flying Squad officers and also shows the importance of commercial premises installing good CCTV equipment. This enabled officers to obtain a wealth of evidence against Doherty which gave him no option but to admit to his crimes."

Operation Clearlake was launched by the Flying Squad in response to a series of robberies on commercial premises. These offences occurred in and around the Ealing, Acton, Chiswick and Hammersmith areas between October 2005 and January 2006.

The offences were linked by their geographical location, the type of premises targeted, the method used and the description of the suspect and the weapon used.

CCTV from two of the robberies provided good quality pictures of the suspect and Docherty was subsequently identified as the person involved.

Docherty was arrested by officers on 8th February 2006 in the NatWest Bank, Hammersmith whilst attempting to obtain property by deception. Whilst in custody he was further arrested in relation to the robberies and later charged.

Details of the Robberies:

31/10/2005 Unwins Wine Merchants, South Ealing Road, London W5 4QB

14/11/2005 Tote Sports Bookmakers, South Ealing Road, Ealing, W5.

15/11/2005 Coral Bookmakers, South Ealing Road, Ealing, W5.

09/12/2005 Tote Bookmakers, Northfields Avenue, Ealing, W13.

12/12/2005 Ladbrokes Bookmakers, Lower Mortlake, Richmond, Surrey.

17/01/2006 Ladbrokes Bookmakers, New Heston Road, Heston.

19/01/2006 Threshers Off Licence, The Avenue, W4.

26/01/2006 Threshers Off Licence, The Avenue, W4.

Details of the attempted armed robberies:

24/11/2005 Tote Bookmakers, Ruislip Road, Greenford, Middx.

13/12/2005 Abbey Building Society, High Street, Acton, W3.

 

May 10, 2006