Two men prayed for forgiveness as they beat, tied up and robbed two women in their own home.
Paul Jones, 53, and Jay Davies, 37, entered a house in St Johns Street, Duxford, on 3 September.
An 18-year-old woman was in the house at the time and immediately texted her boyfriend to say she thought there was someone in the house.
The two men discovered her and, after a brief scuffle as she tried to escape, managed to hold her down and bind her with gaffer tape and computer cables.
She was still making noise, so one of the men said to the other “knock her out”, and he hit her multiple times in the head with a fire poker.
Paul Jones, 53, and Jay Davies, 37
When she regained consciousness, she found she had been tied to a chair in the kitchen and had a towel over her head.
However, she could still see the men; one was eating a banana and the other going through the freezer looking for ice cream.
At this point, a car pulled up in the driveway, the victim’s boyfriend had called her mum who had returned home.
As she came into the house, the two men pinned her down and tied her up next to her daughter in the kitchen using telephone cables.
One of the men began reciting a lengthy prayer asking for God’s forgiveness and to “have mercy on me for I am a sinner”.
A short while later, the house went quiet, and the victims managed to free themselves from their bindings.
The robbers had left the house, taking with them the victim’s car, handbag and cash.
Officers attended and a short while later managed to recover the car, which had been abandoned still containing a handbag and a tobacco pouch which belonged to the suspects.
Scenes of Crime Officers took chemical fingerprints and sent them for urgent analysis. The results showed a successful DNA match for Davies.
Cambridgeshire officers tracked him to an address in Kentish Town, London, where they arrested him on 7 September.
While at the address Paul Jones was also found in one of the bedrooms, where he admitted to being wanted and “on the run” – he was arrested.
Jay Davies, of Ilford, London, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and two counts of causing actual bodily harm.
Paul Jones, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of two counts of robbery and two counts of causing actual bodily harm at trial earlier this month.
Jones was handed a 21-year prison sentence, and Davies received 12 years at Peterborough Crown Court last Thursday (19 March).
DC Ciaron Hickey said:
“This was a terrifying ordeal for the victims; I can’t begin to imagine how frightened they must have been while they were tied up.
“Your own home should be the one place you feel completely safe, and Jones and Davies have ruined that for the victims.
“I hope this sentence will allow them some peace of mind and let them return to normality.”
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At Last, sentences that at least START to show the seriousness of the crimes committed !