AN 18-year-old who threatened a man with a gun in Wokingham town centre has been jailed for five years.

Theo Charles Healis, 18, of Hatch Warren, Basingstoke, appeared at Reading Crown Court on March 28 where he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for the robbery, a further two-and-a-half years for possessing a firearm, and 20 months for threatening to kill, to run concurrently.

At around 5.30pm on Thursday, March 23, 2017, a man was walking to Wokingham train station, close to the council offices in Shute End, when he noticed two men walking behind him, one of whom had their face covered. The victim feared one of the men was carrying a gun, so handed his bag over to the suspect who then made off with it.

The victim believed he knew who the offender was, and through a joint operation between Surrey Police and Thames Valley Police, the suspect was identified as Theo Healis, who was later charged with robbery.

The following week, on Tuesday, March 28, Healis threatened a man in a multi-storey car park in Camberley. he shouted at the man before putting his hand down inside his waistband and pulling out a dark-coloured sock which had an imitation gun inside it.

Although the victim felt threatened and intimidated, he followed Healis and a group he was with out of the car park, where Healis threatened him a second time.

The victim then went to a security office and called the police. Armed officers arrived on the scene and located Healis, where he was arrested and his imitation firearm was seized.

Detective Sergeant James Ansell said: “We hope that the public are reassured that Healis will be in jail after threatening the victim with what was thought to be a gun at the time.

“It transpired that Healis had also carried out a similar act on another victim in Wokingham just days before, and this just shows what great results can be made when working together with other Police Forces and the Crown Prosecution Service.

“We hope that this result will bring justice to both of the victims, who although were traumatised by what had happened, thankfully did not receive any physical injuries.”