At 4.30pm on Thursday (3 December), two men who had been browsing Worthing News in Rowlands Road, pulled out a silver imitation revolver and demanded cash from shop workers.
The victims handed over around £400 in cash from the till. One victim was led to the back of the store and asked to open the safe, but it was empty.
He was assaulted and hit over the head with the imitation weapon, resulting in a minor injury.
Four bottles of vodka were taken by the defendants as they left the store.
Through intelligence and CCTV enquiries, Dale Benjamin Searle, 32, and Danny Lee Cobbold, 32, both of no fixed address, were arrested and charged with robbery and possession of an imitation firearm.
The defendants appeared at Lewes Crown Court on Friday (19 February) and pleaded guilty to the offences.
Searle was sentenced to five years imprisonment and Cobbold was sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment.
DS Andrew Ricks said: “Searle and Cobbold caused significant distress to their victims in this appalling crime and we will absolutely not tolerate this kind of violence and intimidation.
This investigation moved at a fast pace and we are pleased the defendants have now been brought to justice.
Our priority is keeping local communities safe and every day we work tirelessly to prevent and disrupt crime.
