Getaway driver in machete robbery re-arrested after breaching prison release conditions

A man who was jailed for his part in a terrifying shop robbery in Cranwell involving a machete has been re-arrested by police after breaching his early release conditions.
Karl Leveridge. EMN-200519-154902001Karl Leveridge. EMN-200519-154902001
Karl Leveridge. EMN-200519-154902001

Lincolnshire Police appealed for help to track down Karl Leveridge, 32, who was wanted for recall to prison after breaching his license conditions on May 8.

He was traced by officers and re-arrested on May 11 at an address on Tamer Road, Sleaford.

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Someone appearing to be using Leveridge’s Facebook account had boldly commented on Lincolnshire Police’s Facebook appeal saying: “Lol out of the county actually!!”

Leveridge was one of two men handed jail sentences on June 8, 2016 at Lincoln Crown Court.

Staff and customers at Cranwell Convenience Store were threatened with a machete brandished by Jordan Ansell as he demanded cash from the till.

Ansell managed to get behind the counter and snatched £270 from the till before fleeing to a getaway car where Leveridge was waiting to drive him away.

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Jonathan Dunne, prosecuting, said that Leveridge took Ansell to Rauceby Woods where they disposed of the weapon before heading to Sleaford.

The pair were traced after a passer-by noticed them behaving suspiciously as they headed towards the woods.

Leveridge was arrested hours later at a party in Sleaford but had overdosed on cocaine and was taken to hospital for treatment before police were able to speak to him.

Ansell was detained because he was a known associate of Leveridge. Police later found DNA from both men on a cigarette end discarded at Rauceby Woods.

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Mr Dunne said the shopkeepers had been badly psychologically affected by the incident and customers who were present, including an 84 year old man, were left in shock.

Ansell, 21, of Jubilee Grove, Sleaford, admitted robbery as a result of the incident on the morning of October 30, 2015. He was jailed for four years and eight months.

Leveridge, 28, of St Mary’s Close, Wilsford, denied robbery but was found guilty by a jury on a 10-2 majority following a trial. He was jailed for seven years but was released early on license.