Bognor man jailed for armed robbery

Jason Weyer, 49, was given a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence following a two-day trial at Portsmouth Crown Court on Thursday, December 20, police have said.

Officers attended Grande Wines in Nyewood Lane, Bognor, following an armed robbery which occurred just before 10pm on Monday, September 3.

Police said two men wearing masks to cover their faces, blue latex gloves and carrying a knife entered the store, threatened the staff and stole money from the till.

The pair were chased out of the premises by the staff and they fled towards Marine Park. At this location a baseball cap was discovered and following forensic tests, the DNA came back as belonging to Jason Weyer, according to police.

Weyer of Foundary Road, Yapton, was arrested on Thursday, September 6 and was charged with robbery. He was remanded in custody until his trial on Tuesday, December 18. His accomplice has not yet been identified.

Judge Hetherington, who praised the bravery of the staff members, sentenced Weyer to 54 months in prison.

Investigating officer Jon Berisford of the Community Investigation Team said: “We welcomed this sentence and we hope it highlights how serious this offence was.

“The increase in resources allows us to prioritise the offences that cause the greatest harm to our communities such as burglary and organised crime. We were able to utilise all of the tools available to us to identify the DNA from the baseball cap allowing us to respond to the increasingly complex policing challenges we face.

“The sentence available to the judge started at four years, which is higher than usual for this offence, and this was due to the pre-planning and use of disguises.”