Man who robbed Tesco at knifepoint before hijacking car jailed

A man who robbed a King’s Lynn Tesco store in at knifepoint before hijacking a car has been jailed for four years.

Andrew Hennells, 31, entered the Gaywood supermarket on Friday February 13 and approached the till with a kitchen knife, pointing it at the cashier demanding money.

Hennells got away with £410 in cash before walking out of the store into the car park, where he hijacked a Citroen from a woman in her 60s after threatening her with the knife. He stole the car and drove off.

Police were called about the incident shortly before 7.40pm and a number of resources, including armed units, were deployed to the area to search for the suspect.

Enquiries led officers to an address on nearby Tennyson Avenue where Hennells was arrested, just 20 minutes after the first call was made to police. The stolen car was also found and officers searched the vehicle, seizing the knife used in both robberies.

After the incident, Hennells was found to have boasted about carrying out the attack on his Facebook account.

Hennells, of Riverview Way, Gaywood, appeared at Norwich Crown Court today where he was sentenced to four years imprisonment after previously pleading guilty to robbery. The court ordered further charges to lie on file.

Detective Sergeant Pete Jessop, from King’s Lynn CID, said: “This case is a stark reminder that crime doesn’t pay; the victims found themselves being threatened at knifepoint while going about their business and the offender, as a result of poor decision making, now finds himself behind bars for four years.”

Commenting on the Facebook posts, DS Jessop said while these didn’t help to solve the case it did confirm the timeline of events officers had established of that night.

He added: “What did help us in this case was information provided by the public which allowed us to swiftly detain the suspect, safely resolving the incident.”