Twinlakes robbers jailed for more than 20 years after armed spree

Benjamin Hughes (37) and 28-year-old Jamille Marsh were both jailed for more than 20 years after admitting multiple offences at a hearing at Derby Crown Court.

A third man, Antonio Olivieri, also pleaded guilty to taking part in the gang’s crime spree which lasted for five months.

In one of the most shocking incidents in what Judge Shaun Smith KC called a ‘reign of terror’ the postmaster of a village Post Office in Staffordshire was hit on the head with a crowbar as he fought with the pair, before they fired a shotgun into a wall.

The violent series of incidents began at Twinlakes in August 2019, where Hughes and Marsh tied up and threatened to shoot a security guard.

A fire was started which caused £2million worth of damage and the pair made off with a substantial amount of cash, along with four shotguns.

The pair then used two of the stolen guns in a series of robberies across Moira, Sutton Coldfield and Burton.

They then carried out further break-ins at two more post offices and after Olivieri was recruited into the gang early in 2020.

Detectives from Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Leicestershire worked together and the net began to close in on the violent trio.

A search of Hughes’ house in Woodville, Derbyshire, had recovered shotgun cartridges but not the firearms themselves.

DC Matt Bullen, who led the Derbyshire Constabulary investigation, said: “Out of the blue on June 28, 2020, there was a report that two sawn-off shotguns had been found in a bag in a pond that was just a quarter-of-a-mile away from Marsh’s house.

“The guns matched exactly those used in the offences on January 20 – and after their serial numbers were checked were found to be a pair that had been stolen from the Twinlakes estate in Melton during a robbery in August 2019.

“Phone evidence showed that Hughes and Marsh were in the Twinlakes area on the day of the robbery, along with a vehicle linked to them.”

Hughes, of HMP Ranby, was jailed for 21 years and the judge sentenced Marsh, of Danby Road, Littleover, to 18 years in prison.

Both admitted three counts of conspiracy to commit burglary, two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery, one count of false imprisonment and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Olivieri, of James Street, Burton, received a sentence of 16 years and seven months after he admitted one count of conspiracy to commit burglary and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.

Det Insp Dan Phillips, from Derbyshire Constabulary, said: “I have no doubt that had we not been able to identify and arrest them they would have continued to carry out their crimes with no thoughts for the victims of their crimes, or the danger they were putting them in.

“Fortunately, nobody was seriously physically hurt during the incidents, however, the mental impact it has had on their victims has been profound.”