Derbyshire teen locked up over armed raid on vulnerable victim’s home

Luke Johnson, Brody Lower and Callum Wright-McNee ransacked the man’s belongings and locked him in a cupboard during the raid. The gang were armed with a knife and wielding a spade when they turned up unannounced at the victim’s address, in Lenton, Nottinghamshire, on 6 November 2022.

When he refused to let them in the front door, the trio forced their way in through the back door. The victim was threatened with violence and prevented from leaving the property by being locked in his hallway cupboard. When he tried to escape and managed to get out into the street, he was assaulted and taken back inside by the group.

The three offenders also smashed two television sets whilst they were inside the property and two mobile phones and power tools where taken from the victim’s address during the raid.

Johnson, aged 20, of Trowell Road, Nottingham, was sent to a young offenders’ institution for five years when he was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court. He had pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, theft, burglary and affray.

Nineteen-year-old Lower, of Harold Avenue, Heanor, Derbyshire, and Wright-McNee, 19, of Ascot Road, Nottingham, were both locked up for two years after they pleaded guilty to charges of burglary and affray.

Detective Constable Nicola Bingham-Ward, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “The victim of this raid has been through a frightening ordeal and is understandably shaken by what happened that afternoon. This was an appalling invasion of a man’s home. Johnson, Lower and Wright-McNee used force and violence to enter his own personal space in order to terrorise and steal from him.

“This sort of behaviour will never be tolerated and whenever confronted with a case like this, detectives will always carry out a thorough and meticulous investigation to track down those responsible. I would like to thank the victim for his bravery throughout this investigation. I hope both he and the wider community are reassured by the sentences handed down by the judge,” Detective Constable Bingham-Ward added.