Convicted killer Thomas Brand, 52, has been jailed for four years and four months after stealing an empty till from a Sunderland pub while threatening to kill staff. Brand, who has convictions for conspiracy to murder and manslaughter, smashed a pint glass and brandished it to reinforce his threats.
Brave staff refuse to open till
Despite his threats, workers at The William Jameson pub refused to open the till for him, even though they knew it was empty. Brand made off with the unopened till, unaware it contained no money.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that on the night of April 7 this year, Brand entered the pub with a balaclava over the lower half of his face. He approached the till and told a female staff member to open it. She said she did not have access and would need to get her manager.
Threats to kill and smashed glass
The woman alerted the manager without Brand knowing he was counting the money. The manager refused to open the till and told her to call the police. Brand said: "I don't give a f*** about the police." He then told the man: "I will f****** kill you." He picked up a Stella glass, smashed it off the bar counter, and said he would kill them.
Neil Pallister, prosecuting, said: "(The manager) said he feared for his life. The glass was sharp and he kept making threats to kill him. He also heard the defendant say 'I will stab you'."
Arrest and sentencing
Brand forcibly pulled the till from its position and walked out with it, still unaware it was empty. Police found him quickly after a 999 call, but he ran off. He was later found hiding face down in a bush, though the till was never recovered.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said: "This incident was terrifying. When he smashed the glass I honestly thought he was going to hurt us. It's getting increasingly scary knowing we can't do anything and they get away with it."
Brand, formerly of Newcastle but latterly of Hampden Road, Sunderland, has 163 previous convictions, including conspiracy to murder in 2003, for which he was jailed for 12 years. He was also jailed for six years in 2019 for a one-punch manslaughter in Newcastle. His other convictions include arson, robbery, and a burglary last year.
He pleaded guilty to robbery and, for that and breaching a suspended sentence for the burglary, was jailed for four years and four months. Chris Knox, defending, said Brand "has been shot a couple of times" and called the robbery a "most inept effort", with "customers in the bar seeming to have taken it with considerable calm". He added: "He's got a dreadful record but, by and large, not for this."
