FOUR men have been jailed to a total of 28 and a half years for two robberies including the violent heist of an Acton hotel.
The team of thugs consisted of Anthony Roberts, 27, (pictured) and Sean Murphy, 30, both of Maida Hill, Patrick O'Brien, 21, of Tottenham, and Peter Meredith, 35, of Radlett.
They were sentenced at Kingston Crown Court today (9) for stealing cash from a safe at Travelodge, in Western Avenue, North Acton, in January, and for mugging a woman as she entered her home in Radlett, north London, in March.
Roberts and O'Brien were both jailed for eight years for leading the two robberies, while Murphy and Meredith received six years each for their part in the Radlett attack.
Hooded and masked, Roberts and O'Brien stormed into the Travelodge at 7.30pm on Saturday, January 22, demanding access to the safe and threatening to shoot the staff. One member of staff was held up at knife point during the horrifying ordeal as the criminals demanded keys to the safe and looted the tills.
The pair escaped in a stolen Audi A4 with a large quantity of cash and a mobile phone.
On March 2, joined by Murphy and Meredith, the mob targeted a woman in her 50s in a second equally violent incident. The men forced her to the ground and stole her diamond earrings and watch before making off with her handbag in two getaway cars.
But only a few minutes later, the yobs were pulled over by police and caught red-handed. All four were arrested on the scene.
Detective Constable Dan Mitchell, of the Met's Flying Squad at Barnes, said: "These were frightening experiences for the victims in both incidents.
"The amount of evidence demonstrates that Anthony Roberts in particular, who thought that there was some kind of kudos in commercial robbery, is in fact no more than a street robber. The sentences given to him and his associates reflects this."
