Hero shopkeeper foils 'clown' knifeman's raid on West Brom store

Osbourne Walton, aged 36, was wearing a clown mask and brandishing an eight-inch knife when he burst through the doors of Bal’s Wines in West Bromwich on December 27.

He tried to get behind the counter but student Harman Singh fought him off, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard. In the ensuing fight, which lasted several minutes, he wrestled the knife from his attacker and held him down until police arrived.

The brawl ‘caused mayhem’ in the shop as the pair knocked into displays, bringing them crashing down, scattering food and other items across the floor, said Mr Bernard Linnemann, prosecuting.

Mr Singh, who was bitten several times during the clash, succeeded in grabbing the knife and throwing it to the other end of the store but when he tried to call police on his mobile, Walton snatched the phone from him.

Fight

The fight, captured on CCTV footage shown to the court, spilled out on to the street after Walton managed to open the shop door in a bid to escape but the shopkeeper continued to grapple with him, asking bystanders to call the police.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Singh, who was working at the Sams Lane shop to fund his college studies, said he could not stop thinking about the attack, which had made him nervous about going out at night.

He received a two-inch cut in his leg, lost part of a tooth and suffered other cuts and bruises, the court heard. He also had to have three hepatitis injections for the bites.

Mr Adam Wieczerzak, defending, said Walton had never intended for there to be a confrontation, claiming the knife and clown mask ‘were only ever a scare tactic’.

“In fact he was horrified when the complainant reacted in the way he did and in the scuffle that ensued, he tried several times to get away,” said Mr Wieczerzak.

The defendant had a longstanding drug problem and was high on heroin and cocaine when he attempted to raid the store, he said. He had a record for dishonesty and public order offences associated with his drug habit but had never been convicted for knife crime before.

Walton, of Young Street, West Bromwich, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and possession of a bladed article.

In sentencing, Judge James Burbidge QC praised Mr Singh for his ‘great courage and fortitude’ and in confronting Walton, particularly for throwing away the knife and not instead of using it against his attacker ‘as others might have done’. He jailed Walton for five years, ruling he must serve at least two-thirds and extended it for a further two and half years on licence ‘as I determine you are a dangerous offender.