Robbery victim thought she was going to die

“I thought I was going to die.” These are the words of a female employee who was tied up at a shop in Holbeach while two men armed with a long-handled axe stole £50,000 worth of jewellery.

Yesterday, following a thorough investigation, Ints Dombroskis and Hudo Ignats have been jailed for the horrifying attack.

We were first alerted to the incident when a 999 call was made to our Force Control Room just before 12.20pm on Friday 30 May, reporting a robbery at PG Jewellery and Collectables, West End.

CCTV shows the moment when the two men walk into the jewellery store. The first man, Dombrovskis went into the shop and pulled his blue face mask up, the second man Ignats already had a face mask covering his face; he turned around and locked the door behind him. The shop keeper said she wasn’t really sure what was happening.

What happened, though, completely terrified the woman, who is in her 20s. She was tied up and held for nine minutes while the men grabbed jewellery from the store’s glass display cabinets.

Having walked into the store, Dombrovskis walked towards the shopkeeper and pointed at her, his hand was in a black bag; she thought he had a gun in the bag and he was pointing it at her.

Ignats tied the shop keeper’s hands together with duct tape and a bungee cord with two hooks. He did the same to her ankles. She heard: “don’t move or I will kill you.” He was holding a long-handled axe.

For the next nine minutes the men grabbed watches, rings and necklaces from the display cabinets. They stuffed the jewellery into black bags and into their pockets. They also stole a mobile phone, a bank card and £15 in cash. They left the same way as they came in, ten seconds apart. They turned right out of the store and headed along West End.

Shortly after 12.30pm Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue were called to a report of a car on fire on Cranmore Lane, Holbeach, a four-minute drive from the jewellers. Fire fighters believed the car, a silver Vauxhall Astra, had been set on fire deliberately.

Number plates and charred clothing were found inside the partially burnt-out Astra, along with the phone stolen from the jewellers. When checked, tracking technology on the phone had shown it was located on Cranmore Lane. The clothes matched that worn by the offenders.

The number plates were checked and officers were able to establish the Astra and a black Honda Civic travelled into the county together earlier in the day

Armed officers were deployed to search for the two men who were believed to be now travelling in the black Honda Civic; they were still in possession of a long-handled axe and possibly other weapons that the two men had with them.

The officers saw the vehicle as it travelled on the A17 near Holdingham roundabout, some 37 miles from Holbeach. Keeping a distance, they followed the car along the A17 to Newark where the driver joined the A1. Having been joined by further armed officers they were able to complete an enforced stop safely on the A1 just before the Markham Moor junction in Nottinghamshire.

Dombrovski was driving the Honda, with Ignats sat in the rear seat. Both men were directed out of the car by the armed officers and arrested for the offence of robbery. Three gold chains were recovered from the pocket of Ignats and two black bags were found in the boot which contained the stolen items from the jeweller’s store.

Detective Constable Katie Munroe, the Investigating Officer, said: “I cannot begin to comprehend how terrified our victim was, she showed huge courage on that day. I really wish her well for the future as she comes to terms with what happened.

“This investigation was about working with our different teams and building an evidential picture. The investigation moved at a fast pace with information of interest coming in quickly, thankfully. The Intelligence Unit played a significant part in identifying the offender’s movements. The call from the fire fighters was instrumental in joining up more of the dots. The information from the scene gathered by response officers who were first to arrive was crucial. Detectives secured evidence including CCTV and completed searches of the vehicles.

“The final piece of the jigsaw fell into place when colleagues from armed policing found and arrested the two defendants, safely”.

Sergeant Lee Giles, the Operational Firearms Commander on the day, said: “As police officers, our main goal is ensuring public safety and bringing offenders to justice. This was a horrendous crime committed against a completely innocent member of our community merely going about her daily work.

“As soon as my team were aware of this incident we accepted nothing less than getting these offenders in handcuffs. Working with officers from Nottinghamshire Police armed response, we did exactly that on the A1 where these two offenders thought they had escaped with the proceeds of their crime. Not on my watch”

Both men were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court today (22 August), having pleaded guilty to robbery:
• Ints Dombrovskis, aged 45, of Colley Avenue, Kendray, Barnsley was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison. 
• Hugo Ignats, aged 42, of Wilkinson Street, Barnsley was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison. 

Hugo Ignats 

Ints Dombrovskis

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