Jail for armed robber who stole lorry at gunpoint and was shot by police

Sending Howard Jones to prison, Judge Peter Crabtree paid tribute to the bravery of the police officers and logistics manager Steven Riley who had a gun held to his head by the robber.

“I want to comment what were in all the circumstances brave actions by a number of people and in particular Mr Riley, who at the time was suffering considerable stress in his private life,” the judge said.

The 59-year-old Falklands War veteran had earlier admitted blackmailing his former boss at N&B Foods, robbery, possession of a firearm, false imprisonment, causing actual bodily harm and assaulting an emergency worker.

On Thursday, Swindon Crown Court heard Jones had previously worked for N&B Foods, a company that makes ingredients for the takeaway trade, for around six months but was dismissed in March 2020.

He had taken cash from the company – he said to expose the weak system in operation. He alleged wrongdoing by other staff members and said he had health and safety concerns.

Two months later, on May 25, the disgruntled ex-employee bombarded N&B Foods director Babu Chavda, 75, with 11 telephone calls over the course of the day.

The final call, made at 5.16pm, was answered by Mr Chavda. Jones didn’t give his name but warned Mr Chavda he would shoot his son if the company boss didn’t pay £50,000 wrapped in foil by Thursday, May 25. He asked for further payments of £50,000 - totalling quarter of a million pounds - telling his victim he would send a taxi round to the man’s “place”.

The call, part of which was recorded by the victim’s wife, was reported to the police. The detective investigating the earlier theft allegation recognised Jones’ voice from the video-recorded interview. He was arrested at 9.20pm that evening and call records still on his phone pointed to him telephoning Mr Chavda at 5.16pm.

Jones was later bailed by the magistrates, a decision that Mr Chavda said had “deeply shocked and upset” him.

Prosecutor David Maunder told the court that Jones visited Wiltshire Shooting Centre, Devizes, on June 11. He claimed he needed a gun to deal with a rat infestation and was shown a number of models, but left empty handed as he said they were too expensive.

He returned the following day and asked for a second-hand model. He paid £88.50 for a Milbro Classic 1911 BB gun.

The Milbro Classic handgun Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

On the afternoon of June 16, driver Piotr Giowanowicz was returning to N&B Foods’ compound in the Rivermead industrial estate, Westlea, in his lorry.

An employee at the firm for a decade, he was surprised to find the gates were shut upon his return to the depot. It was the first time in his 10 years at the firm that he’d seen it happen.

He opened the gate and drove into the forecourt. Suddenly, the passenger door opened and Jones – wearing a balaclava and with a pair of bolt croppers in one hand and a pistol in the other – demanded: “Where is your safe?”

Jones, who had driven to the scene in his Honda Civic, took Mr Giowanowicz’s mobile phone then reached behind the passenger seat and tried to grab the cash safe. He ordered the driver out of the cab at gunpoint and into the back of his truck. The truck was refrigerated and capable of reaching temperatures of -20C, although the device was not switched on.

Nilesh Chavda, the man who Jones had previously threatened to shoot, was working in the office at the depot when he saw a lorry being driven erratically in the yard.

He went out to investigate and found the lorry cab empty with the engine left ticking over. He opened the back door to find Mr Giowanowicz looking shocked and panicked, then saw Jones. The defendant told him: “Get in the f***ing truck.” Nilesh Chavda fled up the road, fearing for his life.

The operations manager, Steven Riley, was the next to be threatened by Jones. Mr Riley was on his way home when he saw Jones walking towards him. Knowing some of the circumstances for the man’s dismissal from the company, he returned to the office.

Jones came face-to-face with Mr Riley, who tried to persuade the gunman to stop what he was doing - telling him he was making a big mistake. “I don’t give a f***,” said Jones, who held the pistol first against the operations manager’s chest then his head. When the gunman cocked his gun, Mr Riley handed over a box of keys to the lorry safes.

The gunman got behind the wheel of the DAF truck and drove away. A unit of armed officers had already been alerted to the robbery, both by another director of the firm who was watching on CCTV and workers at other businesses nearby. They raced from across Swindon to catch up with Jones.

The lorry at the scene in Ridge Green Picture: ADVER

Police retrieve Jones' Honda Civic from outside N&B Foods Pictures: ADVER

Police at N&B Foods on the night of the shooting Picture: ADVER

A gun is recovered from the scene Picture: ADVER

They confronted Jones in Ridge Green, a residential road not far from Shaw Ridge Primary School. As they approached, Jones was outside the lorry. He got back in the cab, with the gun visible in his hand, and the lorry began to roll forwards.

One of the officers, named in court only as PS12, fired his Taser at Jones twice. The officer said: “I remember the black of the muzzle pointing at me for what seemed like a very long time and distinctly remember thinking to myself, ‘F***, I’m dead.’”

In the process of being Tasered, Jones accidentally fired at the armed officer – striking him in the face with a ball bearing. The officer that was struck shouted at his colleague “it’s a BB gun”.

That warning did not seem to have been heard by the other policeman, PS10, who saw Jones apparently pointing the handgun at the other officer.

“As the suspect pointed his handgun directly at PS12 I instantly feared for his life. Howard was not obeying commands. I believed he was now going to shoot at PS12 and kill him,” PS10 wrote in a statement. He fired a single round from his Heckler & Koch G36 automatic rifle, piercing the lorry door and hitting Jones in the leg. The officers immediately began to perform first aid.

It was only after the incident that PS12 realised he still had a ball bearing embedded in his skin. He was taken to hospital, where the pellet was removed. In a statement summarised for the court by Mr Maunder, he said it frequently occurred to him that had the BB gun been a lethal weapon then he would “most likely not be here right now”.

Jones was taken to Southmead Hospital, Bristol. It was there, on June 19, that he assaulted Sgt Ho Tsang, who had been tasked to guard him as he received treatment in a private room.

Howard Jones' custody shot Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

The suspect, who remained under arrest, had quarrelled with the officer earlier that day over his not being allowed to use a toilet on the ward – despite there being one in his room. He went to shake the sergeant’s hand before striking him repeatedly in the head and pushing him into his chair. He was only restrained when another officer came in and used pepper spray on him.

The court was told there had been a profound impact on those threatened by Jones on June 16. The lorry driver said he thought he could have died, especially when he was locked inside the refrigerated unit.

Nilesh Chavda spoke of fearing he was going to die, believing the threats Jones had made to Mr Chavda senior were going to be carried out.

Jones, formerly of Stratton Road, pleaded guilty to blackmail, robbery, possession of a firearm with intent to commit a specified offence, false imprisonment, causing actual bodily harm and assaulting an emergency worker.

Tony Bignall, mitigating, described the offending as “bizarre and incomprehensible”. His client had reached the age of 59 having only got into trouble in the early 1980s and in early 2020, then committed an incomprehensible series of offences, he said. The blackmail had been “bungled, to say the least”.

Jones himself had raised concerns about his mental health. A psychiatric report had concluded he was not mentally ill, although it recorded that Jones could be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He had served with the second Parachute Regiment during the Falklands War. Mr Bignall said his client had a history of dementia in his family and was concerned he was suffering from the disease.

He had a wife, who had her own health issues, children and grandchildren.

The court was told Jones no longer stood by assertions he made to the probation service that he’d lent the owners of N&B Foods £1m and was concerned about how it was being spent.

Sentencing Jones to 12-and-a-half years’ imprisonment, Judge Crabtree made it clear he was sentencing the defendant on the basis that he had shot the officer recklessly rather than intentionally. He noted that the gun had been waved around and the safety catch was off. 

It is expected Jones will serve seven years and 10 months in custody before he is released on licence.

An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct this month cleared the armed officers of wrongdoing, concluding they had acted proportionately.