An Arbroath thug found guilty of robbing a woman with a tomahawk axe in a terrifying shop raid has been jailed.
Dale Crookshank walked into Sam’s Store in Arbroath, clad almost entirely in black.
He brandished the weapon at the shopkeeper, robbing her of £85, three pouches of cigarette tobacco and a bottle of booze.
Crookshank, 31, had denied assaulting the woman by presenting an axe at her and possessing the offensive weapon on July 18 2020.
Following a two-day trial at Dundee Sheriff Court in January, a jury found Crookshank guilty.
The court was shown CCTV footage from inside the small convenience store on Ponderlaw Street.
It showed Crookshank, dressed in a black top with hood and dark trousers, approach the shop worker, before brandishing the axe.
He was then seen scooping items into a dark rucksack, which the Crown argued was similar to one being worn by the accused at an earlier time.
Sentencing
Crookshank, of Leonard Street in Arbroath, returned to the dock to be sentenced after the preparation of reports.
His solicitor Nick Whelan said: “This was at the lower end on the basis of the complainer’s evidence.
“He appears to be apologetic.
“He brandished it (the axe) briefly and there was a discussion between him and the complainer but there was clearly no threats and there was no violence.
“I think we’re coming up for the third anniversary.”
Crookshank’s “short record” of previous convictions includes drink-driving and breaching the peace.
He did not offend while on bail for the shop robbery but Sheriff Alastair Carmichael jailed him for two years.
The sheriff said this reflected society’s disapproval and acted as both a punishment and a deterrent.
He said: “The jury found you guilty of an assault and robbery at a convenience store.
“This was an armed robbery at a small shop in the early hours of the morning.”
The sheriff noted despite trying to forget about the incident, the woman Crookshank robbed still has memories “pop into her mind.”
Targeted again less than a year later
At the time, shop owner Rana Khan said he was shocked his business was targeted.
He said: “We do a public service here. With the coronavirus and all of that we have been here to serve the people who live nearby.
“There are very nice people in this area. I have been here for about 15 years and there are some elderly people in the area so it’s all very upsetting.
“We’re just a local shop.”
However, in May 2021, the shop was again hit, this time by knife-wielding local man, Kenneth Tough.
He fled empty-handed after being tackled by the man working there at the time, refused to give him money and grabbed his arm to prevent him doing anything with the knife.
When he as later traced by police, he told them: “This ain’t my first rodeo, so you can f*** off.”
For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our Courts Facebook page.
