He entered the store covered in blood
Marcus Sheriff(Image: West Yorkshire Police)
A callous, blood-soaked thug asked a Starbucks customer if he wanted a flat white as he robbed the branch.
Marcus Sheriff, 27, was covered in blood when he entered the Starbucks in Armley on December 18 last year and demanded a staff worker open the tills. Leeds Crown Court heard he was on bail for two other terrifying attacks at the time.
Prosecutor Esther Bukoye told the court he first struck out at another rave-goer with a Stanley knife on March 14 last year. She said: “The victim had been at Crown Point for a rave in Leeds. He had a few drinks with his friends and during the night he was approached by the defendant, who was then unknown to him and he turned around and shoved him with his forearm, causing the man to lose his balance.
“He told him to ‘Leave me alone’ but he continued to stand there.”
The man went on to “shove” Sheriff, of Poplar Way in Bramley, back before he was slashed in the neck by a Stanley knife. He went to hospital for treatment to a 2cm wound and Sheriff was eventually traced by CCTV footage. He initially gave a “no comment” interview, but in his second told officers he was “not responsible for the assault and it was “bull****.” He said he did not know how he had been positively identified.
It was while he was on police bail for the attack that Sheriff carried out his second on staff members at the King on The Lane pub. Ms Bukoye told the court: “He was with friends drinking. When he and his friend struggled to pay, someone working there said to let them have it for free but that would be their last.
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“The complainant was cleaning around the pub and attempted to walk past one of the friends who was sat in the walkway of the bar. He asked him to move, and this led to the friend becoming irate and he began to argue with him.”
Another staff member intervened and told the group to leave before Sheriff’s friend threw a drink at her. Ms Bukoye said: “The defendant then picked up another and threw that and the glass at the victim, hitting him to the left side of the head. The glass shattered upon impact, causing multiple cuts to the face. They were removed from the pub and continued to throw glasses at the window.”
It was in the early hours of the next morning that Sheriff, covered in blood, targeted the Starbucks. The prosecutor said: “At around 7.45am, he entered the Starbucks on Armley Road covered in blood. He approached a staff member and said to him, ‘Brother this is a robbery.’ At first, the staff member believed that to be a joke, however, after noticing his blood on his face and clothes, he began to take the situation more seriously.
“The defendant repeated that it was a robbery and said, ‘Show me the cash, don’t make me pull out the blade.’ The defendant had his hands in his pockets throughout. He queried where the safe was and told the man to tell him. As he did this, he told the defendant that he did not have access to it himself, and suggested that the tills would have enough money, as he wanted to placate him so as not to harm him or his colleague.”
Starbucks, Armley Road(Image: Google Maps)
The staff member took Sheriff to the till where a customer approached and engaged with him. The tills were opened and Sheriff took £60 in cash from one and £40 in coins from the other. Sheriff left a small amount of blood on the till tray.
Ms Bukoye said: “After the robbery, he made a comment to the customer and said: ‘Want a flat white do you? I’m doing this because my kids are starving.’
“The customer then turned to the staff member and said, ‘Shall we get him?’ He said ‘No’ and the customer left and began chasing the defendant.”
Sheriff managed to get away but was traced and arrested from a rooftop in Spring Street on December 21. The court heard he was behaving “erratically” for an hour and a cherry picker was required to get him down from the rooftop.
He gave a prepared statement to officers that said he did not remember any of the events that happened on the day of the robbery and that he suffered psychosis. In his witness statement, the Starbucks staff member said that Sheriff made him fear he would use a bladed article in order to steal money.
He said: “He had no lawful right or authority to do that.”
The court heard Sheriff went on to admit assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of a bladed weapon, wounding and robbery. He had a previous conviction for robbery and possession of a bladed article on his record from 2020.
Mitigating, James Holding said that dad had written a letter to the judge, who had also been made aware of a reference from Sheriff’s partner, who had supported him in court.
Mr Holding said: “It is difficult to reconcile the man reflected in these offences as the man in the case files. He is a completely different person when under the influence of alcohol or drugs. When he has that under control you will see he goes through large parts of life without troubling the courts.
“There is a complete lack of offending prior to 2019 then around three years after his release. He knows if he addresses his issues he can and will stay out of trouble. He is aware the combination of offences means only an immediate custodial sentence will do.”
His Honour Judge Simon Batiste jailed Sheriff for four years.
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