Violent robber in jail after going on the run for 13 years

Ambrose Nicholas O’Neill, who was dubbed ‘The Running Man’ by the national media because of his ability to evade capture, went missing during his trial in July 2008 after attending the first day.

He was jailed in his absence for eight years and police conducted a dedicated search for him to ensure he served his sentence.

O’Neill was surprised when officers pounced to arrest him at a property in Wyberton, Lincolnshire, in the early hours of Friday.

He is now finally starting his eight-year prison sentence and it may be extended depending on a further hearing to be arranged at Leicester Crown Court.

A 41-year-old woman was also taken into custody on suspicion of assisting an offender when O’Neill was caught.

The incident O’Neill was originally arrested for took place on February 10, 2007, at the Seagrave home of a then 67-year-old antiques dealer.

O’Neill, who is now aged 42, knocked on the victim’s front door posing as a pizza delivery man before pushing him over and punching him in the face.

He made threats to kill the victim and demanded he open his safe before leaving empty-handed.

He was finally brought to justice after Pc James Gill, an award-winning officer, who was commended in 2019 for his dedication to catching wanted criminals - even in his spare time, picked up O’Neill’s case and made it his mission to get him in cuffs.

Pc Gill, a Nottinghamshire Police officer, said: “He is known as ‘The Running Man’.

“We knew he had changed his appearance and lived in an area where people do not know him and he had an assumed identity.

“He was laughing at the police so we were determined to do everything to find him.

“It has taken an incredible amount of work to find him.

“It’s making these people know their time on the run is over.”

Leicestershire Police had launched a man-hunt to find O’Neill after he skipped court in 2008 while colleagues from Nottinghamshire also carried out extensive enquiries, as his last known address was in Arnold.

But after detectives had exhausted all lines of enquiry the trail went cold.

Pc Gill and an intelligence officer took it upon themselves to launch ‘Operation Gladiolus’ in December 2020 as they continued to work tirelessly in an effort to track O’Neill down, with support from response colleagues.

One piece of recent intelligence that proved to be the start of a major breakthrough in the case was an anonymous tip-off through Crimestoppers, which suggested Ambrose may be living with a woman in the Wyberton area, near Boston.

The information didn’t include an exact address so the officers worked relentlessly to develop the intelligence and used a number of tactics to pinpoint his home.

Pc Gill, who featured heavily on the television police documentary Bodycam Squad, even turned up for work in his own time at 2am the day before the arrest to finalise the details because he was so excited at the prospect of getting O’Neill in custody after all this time.

The officer added: “We are delighted with this arrest and it’s taken a lot of hard work to finally reach this point.

“O’Neill had been wanted for a long time and was particularly difficult to find once we received this fresh piece of intelligence we didn’t hesitate to act on it.

“I’m delighted that it paid off and that we’ve now been able to get justice for the victims of this horrific crime.”

Chief Superintendent Rob Griffin, of Nottinghamshire Police, praised the work Pc Gill and his colleagues and also thanked officers in the Leicestershire and Lincolnshire forces for their support during the investigation.