AN IMMATURE armed robber who booked a taxi to a petrol station and then asked the shop assistant to 'empty the till please' to pay off drug debts, has been jailed for five years.

At about 4am on December 23, Caleb Molomo - who was armed with a knife and disguised with two scarves covering his face - went into the BP garage in Wokingham Road, Bracknell.

He then went up to the till where he threatened shop assistant Suman Gurung to hand over the cash.

The court heard how Gurung later told police Molomo, who was 19 at the time, was so intimidating, he feared he would be stabbed if he did not go along with Molomo's demands.

After Gurung told him the tills were locked and the store's safe could only be opened with the manager's key, Molomo threatened him again and got away with £231.

Six weeks later, on February 3, an assistant at the Esso station in Downshire Way, Bracknell, told police he saw a Volkswagen Passat pull onto the forecourt at around 1.20am and Molomo get out of the car, withdraw some money from the ATM and head back to the car as though it was a taxi.

He then went into the store where he approached the till with a £1 packet of Lockets cough sweets and then politely asked employee Emmanuel Frimpong to 'empty the till please' and whether he'd like some of the £367 loot.

Mr Frimpong told police that though Molomo didn't threaten him with the weapon, he could see the handle of what looked like a black gun sticking out of his pocket.

Prosecuting Russell Pyne said: "The defendant was traced because of the taxi which he had arrived in and his home address was searched the following day and a black imitation handgun was found.

"Police officers went to his room at Essex University where he was studying finance where police found the Esso carrier bag in his room and he was arrested after admitting to both robberies."

However, his defence barrister Nawraz Karbani, explained Molomo - who celebrated his 20th birthday on the day of sentencing - had trouble with 'decision-making'.

"He was making a life for himself but somewhere along the way he has made some bad decisions.

"He had quite a difficult time and had to change schools as he was being bullied because of his African background and changed his name because had some problems fitting in.

"This might explain some change in his character when he went to uni, he found himself in with a rowdy crowd and has taken some drugs under the naive assumption that they were free and found himself owing £500."

She argued Molomo's sentence should be reduced as he had not 'brandished' the fake handgun, which had bought over the Internet. 

She said: "This was a defendant taking advantage of his first success. He was encouraged by the ease in which he committed the first offence.

"He was quite polite, he was trying to intimidate or threaten in his own way but he didn't go further than he had to. He offered, in quite a silly way, half of the money to the shop assistant and he did he say please."

But sentencing Molomo, Judge Angela Morris, said: "You were not a violent individual, but given that you had a large knife in your hand at the time that you were demanding money you did not need to be and it was very frightening for the victim who believed that if he did not comply with your requests, he would be stabbed.

"But just six weeks later you took matter even further into your hands, when at 1am you ordered a taxi to take you from your home to the Esso Garage in Downshire Way. 

"In his victim statement, Mr Frimpong said he was very scared and that you gave the impression of being an experienced criminal.

"He believed you would shoot him because you had a serious and desperate look in your eyes.

"There was a degree of premeditation by you in that you had armed and disguised yourself and went to the petrol stations with the purpose of getting money. You had fallen into debt with a drug dealer and the reason you committed these offences was to repay these debts which you felt compelled to do by robbery.

"You deliberately took the weapons with you to scare and intimidate and even despite your immaturity, you knew precisely what you were doing. You had other options, you have a supportive family."

Investigating officer, Det Con Andy Wroe of East Berkshire CID, said: "These were audacious robberies where the petrol station staff were threatened with violence, leaving them deeply upset. It was fortunate that nobody was hurt.

"Molomo’s attitude was so brazen, he called a taxi to take him to the petrol station and then calmly used the cashpoint to pay the driver before entering the shop and threatening staff with an imitation firearm and demanding cash. However his behaviour was far from casual and the sentence imposed reflects the seriousness of his crime."

Caleb Molomo, of Priestwood Avenue, Bracknell, was sentenced to five years in prison on two counts of robbery and two and a half years for possession of an imitation firearm, to run concurrently.